Sing It Out
by secret2me2
Summary: Since Scott was jailed, Ally has been trying to move on with her life. Her relationship with Austin hit a rough patch as her memories and fears got the best of her. His own problems start to rise as they try to fix what's broken. Their own troubles soon converge to form the biggest problem that threatens their relationship. Sequel to To The Moon And Back.
1. Unintentional Jam Session

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"You're late!" Ally called out to her boyfriend as she poured coffee into her mug. "I know! I know! No need to keep reminding me," he grumbled as he walked in buttoning his shirt up with messy hair.

"You should've woken up earlier," she leaned on the counter facing him taking a sip from her mug. "I was up all night learning my lines," he said from the mirror in the foyer where he was doing his hair.

"Would the script have exploded if you waited for the morning?"

"That would delay me in memorizing the script and I would not be ready to shoot in time," he replied.

"It certainly delayed you in getting to your meeting. You were supposed to be there 20 minutes ago," she glanced at the clock.

He came back to the kitchen and grabbed his keys. "I need to head out now. I'll call later."

He leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek, but her hands shot out to stop him and she moved her head away from his lips as her body tensed.

Realizing what happened, he stammered, "I'm sorry. Force of habit. I'll just leave." He turned around and left the house.

"No," Ally quietly spoke into the empty house, "I'm sorry."

After Austin got her to agree to start moving on with her life and not distance herself anymore, she got better step by step. She started talking to him again. She was able to not drown in her thoughts for hours and stay up all night because of her nightmares. Her sleeping habits have improved as the dreams got less and less.

She slept in a separate room, though. The times that she would sleep with Austin in his bed were the times her nightmares came back. Her fear of direct physical contact with a guy remained still.

Austin does try to get her comfortable with hugging him, but after his last try where she started screaming in fear as he hugged her from behind he gave up. He told her he was just glad they were able to have a normal conversation again.

But she knew he annoyed. He should be able to hug and kiss his girlfriend, not hesitate every single move he makes around her. Flashes of her kidnapper take over her mind when a guy touches her.

She was aware that if she doesn't get over this fear soon, she'll lose him. It wasn't even like they're a couple living together. It was as if he was her best friend that lived with her.

He was much healthier now. The infection subsided and the wound was haling nicely now. He's supposed to be resting right now, but his career demanded his attention. He was leaving for Vancouver to shoot his movie in 5 days. She didn't want him to go. The movie required him dancing a lot with too many stunts for her liking and his injury still hasn't healed completely.

It's not like she's gonna tell him that. His career was important to him. She understood that. She put herself in his shoes and knew what he was doing was the right thing.

Her own career called for her too. Being in the studio and writing a song for Austin's movie helped her keep her thoughts in order and distracted her from her memories.

* * *

"Come on, Alls," Austin mumbled quietly as he tried calling her again.

"Why don't you try calling her parents? They might know where she is," Dez suggested behind him. Austin followed Dez's advice and called her mom.

"Hello?" Penny's voice rang in his ears.

"Hey, Penny. I'm trying to reach Ally, but she's not answering to any of my calls. Do you have an idea of where she is?"

"Oh, Austin," her sympathetic tone raised panic in his body.

He went to the stables at the back of the countryside house where his parents got married and headed to the one stable he knew Ally was in.

He saw her leaning against the wall on the floor hugging her knees to her chest with dried tears on her cheeks staring at the emptiness in front of her.

"Hey," he said softly walking closer to her.

"Hey," her voice cracked as he sat down next to her. "Why didn't you call me? I would've dropped everything at once and came here," he questioned.

"I couldn't think straight," she said in monotone.

"Are you okay?" he asked carefully looking at her as she stared ahead.

"Melody's gone, Austin. My childhood's dead," tears flowed down her cheeks.

Knowing better than to touch her while she cried, he said, "I know. But your memories will always live. She's never completely gone. You spent a lot of time with her the past 2 months. She'll never be forgotten."

"Last week when I came to visit her," she started as her tears slowed down, "she was so weak, I couldn't ride on her. She was whimpering the whole time. With everything that's happened in my life, she's always been the one constant I had."

He felt his heart ache for the sad girl next to him. He felt the urge to do something, but he didn't know what that was.

"I won't tell you to stop being sad for that. I won't tell you to not mourn the death of a horse because I know Melody's a huge part of who you are," he wasn't sure of what to say, "but I will tell you that you have parts of your life that you can trust to be constant now."

"Like what?" she asked wiping away the tears after they stopped.

"Your music, your parents, our friends, me," he gently said. His reply must have worked because she cracked a smile and laid her head on his shoulder.

That gesture made him raise his eyebrows in surprise, but knowing better than to address it, he put his arm around her shoulders and enjoyed the first time she touches him without a problem since he was at the hospital. He saw her hands clench tightly and knew that she was fighting off the urge to push his arm off. He was grateful for her effort.

"Ally?" they heard Trish's voice outside.

Ally looked at him questioningly and he admitted sheepishly, "I might have called for backup."

"In here!" she yelled keeping her eyes on his.

Footsteps were heard and soon Trish, Cassidy, and Kira along with their boyfriends walked in.

Noticing the smile on Ally and Austin's faces, Elliot announced loudly, "I hear that we have some crying to do!"

"Or you know, something less depressing," Ryder said referring to the guitar in his hand.

"That's how we're gonna mourn the death of my horse?" Ally giggled.

"We thought that singing it out would help better than crying," Kira said as they all took a seat on the floor in a circle with Austin and Ally.

"Look, you're already smiling," Dez said before turning to Austin, "damn, you're good."

"I'm as surprised as you are," Austin chuckled, "I have no experience in comforting crying girls for the loss of their horses."

"I'm gonna credit Ally for being such a tough cookie and taking it easy on herself for this one," Cassidy spoke encouragingly.

Ryder started playing a tune that soon everyone recognized.

 **Austin:**

 _So let's sing_ **He looked at her proudly** _  
Na, na na na na, hey, ya_ **(1)** _  
Come on and sing  
Na, na na na na, hey, ya_

 **Austin and Ally:**

 _This is our song_ **She smiled at the people around her** _  
That's all that matters  
'Cause we all belong right here together  
There's nothing better than singing along  
This is our summer _**They locked eyes and sang**

 **Austin:** _  
This is our song_

 **Elliot and Cassidy: They started clapping to the beat**

 _Come grab your guitar  
Sit by the fire  
'Cause we all need a song  
When we're weary and tired_

 **Dez and Trish:** _  
We'll sit here together  
And sing it out loud_

 **All:**

 _This is our song  
That's all that matters  
'Cause we all belong right here together  
There's nothing better than singing along  
This is our summer  
And this is our song  
This is our song  
This is our song_

 **Austin:** _  
This is our song_

 _Come on and sing  
Na, na na na na, hey, ya,(hey ya)_

 **Ryder and Kira:** _  
Come on and sing  
Na, na na na na, hey, ya(hey ya)_

 **Austin and Ally:** _  
And come on and sing  
Na, na na na na, hey, ya(hey ya)_

 _Come on and sing  
Na, na na na na, hey, ya(hey ya)_

 **All:**

 _This is our song  
That's all that matters  
'Cause we all belong right here together  
There's nothing better than singing along  
This is our summer_

 **Austin:** _  
(Our summer)_

 **All:**

 _This is our song  
That's all that matters  
'Cause we all belong right here together  
There's nothing better than singing along  
This is our summer  
This is our song_

 **Ally:** _  
(This is our song)_

 **All:** _  
This is our song_

 **Ally:** _  
(This is our song)_

 **All:**

 _This is our song_

 **Ally:**

 _(This is our song)_

 **Austin:**

 _This is our song_

"Really, Ryder?" Cassidy giggled, "Camp Rock?"

He shrugged, "Everyone's jam from the 2000's."

"This is working," Ally smiled not just meaning Melody's death, "more songs. More."

They launched into an unintentional jam session on the muddy ground in a late horse's home.

* * *

 **(1) This Is Our Song- Camp Rock 2**

 **Here is the first chapter of the sequel! If you haven't read To The Moon And Back, I suggest you go do that to understand this story.**

 **The title of the story is actually from a review I got a long time ago that said that TTMAB should've been named Sing It Out, and I agree but it was too late to change the title. So thank you if you were the one that wrote that review. You saved me the trouble of coming up with a new title.**

 **This story will have many things happening in it, so try to keep up. That's why I had to separate it into a sequel. I'll give you a hint: Regret.**

 **Not updating until this chapter gets at least 5 reviews.**


	2. Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any character I didn't make up.**

* * *

"Were you wearing a blindfold when you got your license?!" Austin shouted at the swerving car's driver next to him. "Hey!" he exclaimed going to the right lane just in time before the two cars collided. "You little shit," he swore, "Stay in your lane! It's not so hard!"

Luckily for him, the car sped up and swerved through the cars on the street as if in a race. "Good," Austin said under his breath, "Go get yourself a ticket now. Let's see how happy you'll be paying for it."

He finally reached his destination and got out of the car. He opened the door and got it taking off his shoes. "Mom?" he called out.

"In here!" he heard from upstairs. He ran up the stairs and found his mom in his sister's old room tidying things up. "Hi, sweetie," she smiled straightening the new sheets she just put on the mattress.

"Why are you in Cassidy's room?" he questioned when he noticed the room seemed to no longer have empty shelves and a mattress-less bed.

"Cassidy's gonna be staying with us for a while," she explained, "she's on her way."

"Why? What happened to her house with Elliot?"

"She and Elliot are… having some trouble in their relationship," she replied slowly.

"What? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Austin asked in shock before anger took over, "What did he do to her?" His mom noticed his dark tone and immediately said, "She just found him texting his ex. It's nothing."

His head snapped up, "Nothing? You mean he hurt your daughter and it's nothing?"

Mimi smiled, "You're all still young and unexperienced at this thing. Every small thing creates a huge fight. You'll grow up ad laugh at the things you've fought over."

"I'm gonna kill him," Austin growled. "No, you're not. He's your best friend," his mom calmly stated.

"So? I don't care. He should've known when he started dating her that I would set no boundaries to my actions against him."

"I know he has a good explanation. She's been with Elliot for 2 and a half years now. He's a good one. He won't suddenly decide to cheat on her. He loves her too much."

He was about to speak before his mom said, "Are you here for what I think you're here for?"

Momentarily distracted from his anger towards his best friend and band mate, he nodded, "Yeah. My flight leaves tonight and I came to say goodbye."

She frowned, "That's too soon." He enveloped his mom in a hug and kissed her head, "I'll be back just before Christmas." She sighed, "That's too long." They broke their hug as Austin said, "I'll have a few off days here and there. And you guys can fly out to meet me there."

"How's Ally taking it?" Mimi asked. He shrugged, "She's hiding it pretty well by saying that the empty house could help her get better."  
He hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "I need you to look after her while I'm gone, Mom. I know she says she's okay, but she's not. I need you all to be around her so she doesn't feel alone."

Ally was gradually getting better, but she still had problems. Her nightmares have been gone for a week now, and she lets Austin touch her a little more. He was still learning his boundaries to the new intimacy they had. What he had learned so far about this stage of her recovery was:

No kissing anywhere.

No sleeping in the same bed.

No cuddling on a bed.

No physical contact in the bathroom.

No tight hugs.

Only an arm around her shoulder while they watched TV was allowed.

Hugging her by the waist from behind was allowed.

No being naked around each other.

He basically had 2% more freedom around her, but he was grateful for the improvement and knew she would slowly get back to normal.

Mimi nodded, "I'll keep an eye on her. Now let's go say goodbye to your father." Austin groaned as his mom pulled him to the backyard, "I would really rather just disappearing, Mom."

They stopped in front of the workshop at the back of the house and his mom called out, "Mike! Guess who's here to see you?"

"I am not here for you! Just making that clear!" Austin shouted after her. His father emerged from the doorway wiping his hands on an already dirty cloth.

"He's leaving tonight," Mimi said before slipping away to go back to the house but only making it as far as the bushes to eavesdrop.

They both fidgeted in awkwardness before Mike cleared his throat, "Uh, where are you going?"

"Vancouver," he replied blankly because his father was already informed about his business trip and still asked. "May I ask why?" his father asked.

"Work," Austin stated emotionlessly.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Two months."

His father's shoulders sagged in disappointment, "That's too long. Won't you have off days to come home before that?"

Austin shook his head, "Nope. Really tight schedule." He was aware of his mother's reaction to his lie.

"Okay, well…" Mike quietly said, "I'll see you when you get back, son."

"Yeah, sure," Austin said turning on his heels and making his way back to the house.

Just as he was about to enter he yelled out, "By the way, Mike, if you want to show me what a good father you are, Cass and Elliot had a fight!"

He smirked and continued his path to the front door. He knew he caught his parents off guard by practically yelling out that he was giving him a chance, but honestly, he just wanted to see what his father was gonna do to gain his son's trust.

He left the house just in time to see Cassidy get her suitcase out of her car. He made a detour to her and said, "Hey, Cass."

He saw dried tears on her cheeks and sadness when she looked up at him. "I know what happened," he gently said.

"Why would he be texting his ex when he has a girlfriend?" she asked softly. "I'll talk to him when I see him," he said.

"Are you going to break him?" she smiled gently. He nodded, "If he doesn't have a good explanation."

"Well, don't," she giggled, "I don't want any people-breaking in this." He cracked a smile, "Just because you said so."

"You're leaving today, right?" Cassidy questioned.

"Yeah, I just said goodbye to Mom," he nodded his head towards the house. "Then I guess I'll see you when you're home," she said.

"You're not gonna come to lunch?" he questioned confusedly. She shook her head, "I can't face him now. I'll just say goodbye to you now."

He nodded understandingly and hugged her, "Tell me if he does anything else."

She nodded into her brother's chest, "Tell me if anything exciting happens on set."

"You sure you don't want to come along? It'll be fun," he smiled as they broke the hug.

She shook her head, "Nah, I got work. I do expect pictures of the set though." He laughed and nodded, "I gotta go. Good luck with Elliot, Cass."

"Good luck making your movie," she nodded back at him. As he walked past her to his car, he placed a final kiss on her head.

* * *

"Are you done with the song you're doing for the movie?" Ryder asked as he took the last sip from his drink.

Ally nodded, "I only have to record it now which will be on the set of the movie meaning I'll have to fly over for a day or two."

"Yes!" Austin cheered, "Someone will be with me for this thing!" They laughed at his excitement.

"Come on, superstar, time to go to the airport," Ally said getting up making everyone get up too and take turns in saying goodbye.

"We'll miss you, Austin," Kira said hugging him. "I'll miss you too," he replied letting go of her.

"I better get autographs from the cast," Trish said after saying goodbye to him.

Austin laughed, "I'll try my best to get one their good side."

"I'll see you later, man," Dez hugged his best friend. Ryder warned as he got his turn, "You better not make any new best friends out there."

Austin rolled his eyes, "Like I'm gonna listen to you." He turned to see the one person he hasn't talked to you yet. He felt dread and anger rise.

Elliot rolled his eyes, "What's with the glare, man?" He growled, "You hurt my sister who didn't even come because of you then you show up at lunch acting as if nothing happened."

"I know what I did was wrong, but I swear it's not what it looks like. I'm planning on fixing it. But I came here to say goodbye to my best friend before he leaves for a long time and I have to fix the mess I made," Elliot said.

Austin felt his anger subside before pulling him into a hug. "Make things right, alright? Or I'll have to break you," Austin smiled.

"I can easily beat you," Elliot bragged. "Oh we'll see about that," he fired back.

"Austin?" he heard Ally's voice behind him, "Time to go."

Austin stepped back next to his girlfriend, "Alright, I'll see you all soon. I'm gonna miss you. This is the moment where I start dreading to go. I really don't want to get on that plane now. Can I not go?"

He felt sadness for leaving Miami and going to somewhere he didn't know and people he hasn't met. He started second-guessing his decision. But he had travelled on business enough to know that it was only the last minute feeling that'll fade when he gets to his destination.

"You have to go. We want to see you as Luke, not anyone else," Trish replied. "And it's kinda too late to cancel on the producers now," Ryder added.

"Let's go. I'll see you all later. I'll say goodbye to you at the airport," Ally said directing the last part to her boyfriend.

Just as Austin was leaving, he turned to Elliot, "If I don't hear that you fixed things within 2 days, I will come back and punch you."

The guys ooed at Elliot's scared expression from his warning.

Austin followed Ally to her car. "You're not really gonna break him, are you?" she asked.

He shrugged, "When it comes to my sister, I don't have best friends."

* * *

"I can't imagine being in that house alone tonight," she confessed as he got his luggage out of the truck of the car.

"If you're not comfortable with that, Alls, you can go stay at my parents' or yours. The girls also offered to have you," he said. She shook her head, "Nah. I think I should get used to being alone now."

"But no exiling yourself from the world. Go out. Have fun. Forget your fears. Okay?" he smiled.

She nodded, "I really don't want you to go now. I'll feel like something's missing."

"I don't want to be separated from you too, but our careers kind of require that," he replied.

She ignored the tears rushing to her eyes and kept a steady breath, "I'll see you when I get there. Until then, video chats will do."

He saw her teary eyes and let out a small smile, "Yeah, they'll do."

He noticed her struggling with herself before rushing to him wrapping his arms around his waist and burying her head in his chest letting a few tears out.

He let out a surprised 'woah' before hugging her closer. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I can't give you any more than this."

"It's okay," he softly replied.

Ally cleared her throat and pulled away wiping her tears, "You have to go."

His heart clenched at the last seconds he was able to see her, "I love you, Alls." He wasn't expecting her to say it back. He just wanted her to know. She wrapped her arms around herself and let out a jagged breath.

"Bye, Austin," were the last words he heard from her before he turned around and made his way to the entrance.

* * *

 **I know it seems boring and plotless right now, but trust me when I say that the next chapters will make you go crazy.**

 **Note- I am not updating until this chapter gets at least 5 reviews.**


	3. Faded

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

It's been two weeks since she's last talked to him. For the first week of his shooting, they communicated via texts and short phone calls only. They would have video chatted, but with Austin being gone and her trying to get back to normal, she completely booked herself to the max. From one interview to the next to the studio to the photoshoot to the event to the concert.

The short 3-hour time difference made a huge impact too. When she was sleeping, he was just finishing up, and she wasn't about to stay up too late since she had a lot of sleep to catch up and she had busy days. Somedays he had night shoots, so he would either be sleeping or rehearsing all day and that stopped them from even texting.

Tonight, however, was different. He had an off day and she cleared her schedule so she could talk to him. They haven't seen each other for 3 weeks now.

Ally added another coat of mascara to her eyelashes. She felt jittery, as if they had a date. Granted, if this was all she's gonna get from her boyfriend for 2 months, she'll take it.

She took a seat at the dining room table and opened her laptop. A smile crept to her face when she saw that he was online. Quickly clicking on the video chat icon, she took a deep breath.

"Hey, Alls!" his voice called out once he answered.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Ally shouted in horror.

He threw his head back laughter at her reaction. "Turns out, you know," he shrugged as he leaned on his crossed arms on the table in front of him, "Luke's brunette."

"What did they do to your hair?" she asked with wide eyes in disbelief.

Instead of the floppy dirty blonde hair she got so used to, he had chocolate brown spiked up hair, like most of the guys nowadays.

"She didn't like it. Guys, she didn't like it!" he called out over the screen of his laptop.

Ally frowned, "Who's there?" She thought he'd at least try to get some alone time to talk to her like she did.

"Just a few of the cast," he explained. "I thought you were alone," she trailed off.

"But he isn't!" the girl suddenly appearing next to Austin exclaimed with a huge smile.

"You actually thought we'd let Moonyboy out of our sight?" a guy jumped into the shot with a smirk.

Ally knew who they were.

She put a smile on her face, "Hey, you must be Austin's cast mates."

"And you must be the girl he continuously talks about," the girl giggled.

"Melanie!" Austin exclaimed at his blabbering cast mate.

Ally felt a little relieved at the comment the actress playing his love interest made.

"Austin, you suck. How can you video chat with your girlfriend with everyone around you?" the guy laughed.

"That's partly our fault," Melanie said sheepishly.

"Yeah, they dragged me to this karaoke party," Austin told his girlfriend.

"Come on, we'll leave you two alone. I got one to talk to too," Melanie winked and left with the guy.

"Who's he?" Ally asked.

"That's Jack Simmons. He plays Luke's best friend so we kinda have to hang out," he replied.

"What's Ryder gonna say about that?" she smiled before nodding, "Seems like you're having fun out there."

His smile widened and his eyes lit up, "I'm having a blast. The crew and cast are so nice. It's so fun when we're all here for the same purpose and working together on it."

"Hard to miss home with all of that."

His smile faltered as he realized what she was thinking, "It's not replacing home, Alls. I just have to get along with them for the sake of this movie."

Ally shrugged, "Some cast mates end up being best friends for life."

"Can I please have some friends other than my bandmates?!" he exclaimed agitatedly.

Seeing this video chat was taking a turn for the worst, she sighed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just not used to seeing you socialize with other people this much. It's usually just the same circle of friends."

He softened at her apology, "Ally, they'll never replace you guys. This isn't my first movie; I know what will happen to us later. It'll be just reunions on red carpets and tweets. It's not the same."

She nodded and changed the subject, "How are your scenes with Melanie so far?"

"They're all challenging. I have to appear like I would die if she does and act head over heels for her."

She furrowed her brows in confusion, "Why would acting in love be hard for you? You've done this before."

"Every time I've done this, I was single and not in the care to get a girlfriend. This time is different. It's hard to act like you're in love with a stranger when you're already in love with someone back home," he smiled gently.

"I never knew you felt that way about Dez," she added some humor to the conversation.

He rolled his eyes at his girlfriend and decided to go along with it, "It's mutual. We've talked about it."

He felt his smile broaden as he watched her throw her head back in laughter that sounded like music to his ears. "I can't wait to see you," he said when she calmed down.

"Me too," she agreed, "I hope you have cleared out your schedule for me." He shook his head, "Actually, according to the schedule, Melanie and I have to shoot the sex scene the day you arrive."

She scrunched up her nose, "Maybe I should just record it here then." He immediately responded, "No! I want you to come. You don't have to watch."

She giggled and nodded, "I won't watch, that's for sure."

"What are you going to do to pass the week until your flight?"

"I have many interviews and photoshoots to get to. And my mom wants to go for lunch. And I have something in mind I have to do…" she trailed off.

His eyes narrowed at her evading tone, "What is that something?"

"Nothing," she said, "just visiting someone."

"Ally, you better not be visiting Scott is prison!" he angrily exclaimed instantly. "I have to if I want to move on," she fired back.

"No, Ally, you don't have my permission to go," he crossed his arms sternly.

Her jaw dropped at his comment, "What do you mean I don't have your permission to go?! This isn't the 50's, Austin! You can't control my life. I don't need your permission to do anything. I'm an independent adult!"

"How would you feel if I said I was going to visit my abusive and kidnapper of an ex in prison while you were away?" he argued.

"I would encourage you if it was for your own emotional health! I need to do this. I have to have closure with him for the last time. I want to forget him."

"The last time you went out with him for closure surely didn't end well," he frustratedly stated.

"This time is different. I will be in a prison with him. There'll be guards to protect me," she replied.

He was about to say something before someone walked into the room.

Ally watched him look over his computer screen and nod saying, "I'll be right there."

He looked at her with a frown, "I have to go. Bye, Alls."

And his image faded to black.

* * *

 **Okay, so for all of you who miss having cute Auslly scenes, wait for the next chapter, that's all I can tell you.**

 **I'm not updating until this chapter gets at least 5 reviews.**


	4. Vancouver

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"Dawson."

Ally lifted her head and swallowed nervously. She stood up and followed the officer to room with a table with Scott sitting with his head hung low on one side and a guard standing right next to the door. She sat down when the door closed remaining under the watchful eyes of the guard at the door.

Her fears weren't exactly calmed down by her view. It was understandable since she was faced with the person who damaged her.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he growled at her, "Isn't putting me in jail enough?"

Ally kept a stern face and replied, "I came here to get answers."

"Well, how about getting the fuck out of here cuz I'm not answering you," he spat.

The guard cleared his throat at her ex-boyfriend to make him behave. Ally turned her head back to Scott and asked, "Why did you have to do all of that? Why did you start abusing me a year into our relationship? Why didn't you just move on after I left?"

He threw his head back in humorless laughter confusing her and the guard. "You don't get it do you?" he evilly smiled, "You started thinking you were better than me when your career took off. You thought you were above me. You were turning into a diva. Someone had to put you in place."

She stared back solemnly and said, "Why didn't you move on?"

He inched closer to her face leaning on his elbows on the table, "After everything I've done for you, supporting you, helping you, spending money on you, giving up my career for you, you left me as if I've done nothing. You had to understand what I felt. The feeling of being used then thrown away."

Ally swallowed the bile in her throat, "I told you to not throw your career away for me. You made that decision."

"And you made me regret it," he seethed.

He abruptly grabbed her collar and pulled her to her feet as he shot out of his seat. Ally gasped in surprise at the sudden action.

"You fucking made me regret it!" he shouted in her face.

"Johnson!" the guard yelled charging at the prisoner.

The guard pushed Scott of her. "Urgh!" Ally groaned when her back collided with the top rail of her chair and she fell to the floor from the impact.

Ally felt a line going diagonally across her back throb with pain. She looked up to see Scott getting handcuffed while he glared at her. Ally glared back following his eyes as he was escorted out of the room.

* * *

Ally sighed happily when she felt the plane touch ground again

She had arrived to Vancouver. It was late at night now and all she had in mind was sleep, not seeing her boyfriend.

She felt a huge amount of relief when she got to her hotel room. "Bed sweet bed," she let out a breath and a smile as she flung herself on her bed. She winced when she accidentally landed too hard on her bruised back.

She mumbled happily as sleep took over not even bothering to unpack or change.

* * *

"Austin! Your girlfriend is here!" Chad, a cast member, announced as he walked into Austin's dressing room. "I know. I'm going to see her now," he replied as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

He walked into the set to see her back turned to him at the snack table. He motioned to his cast mates not to say anything as he crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Guess who!"

Ally gasped when she felt someone's arms around her and turned her head to see an unfamiliar mop of brown hair. She swiftly turned around and punched the person behind her.

"Ow!" she heard Austin's voice shout when the figure hit the floor. Laughter was heard around them by many people of which she recognized from the movies she's watched.

"She got you bad, Moon," The guy she knew was Jack Simmons laughed.

She looked down to see Austin holding his eye in pain. "Oh my god," the color drained from her face.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as she kneeled next to him, "Are you okay?"

"Damn, Alls, I never know you were this strong," he smiled when he dropped his hand to show her a forming bruise on his eye.

"I swear I didn't mean to!" she quickly said.

"I missed you," he pulled her into a hug ignoring her apologies. She melted into his touch and hugged him back tightly, finally feeling the comfort she's been longing for so long. Awww's were heard from around them.

"I feel terrible. I didn't recognize you because of your hair," she said when they broke their hug.

"Don't feel bad. I expected you to not recognize me," he waved her off.

They stood up and looked around them to see all the crew and cast including the director watching them with smiles.

As everyone but the cast got back to work, the director, David Campbell, walked over to her. "Ally Dawson," he smiled, "you are going to make my movie the jewel of all Hollywood's soundtracks."

"I bet she will," Austin smirked at his girl. "You guys are making me blush," Ally covered her face in embarrassment. "Come on, let's meet the cast," he led her to the group huddled together.

"Guys, this is-" Austin began.

"Ally Dawson. Your girlfriend. You've been dating for only four months but you're in love. You have something special that not all couples have," one of them interrupted.

"How much exactly did you talk about me?" Ally stifled her laugh.

"Too much, but I have to say," the same guy grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it, "he leaves out too many details about your beauty."

Ally giggled, "And you are?"

"Chad. Chad Stevenson. Huge fan," he smirked. "Watch it," Austin warned narrowing his eyes at his cast mate.

Chad lifted his hands in surrender and back away allowing Melanie to hug Ally.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you," she smiled. Ally smiled back, "Me too."

"We're having a gathering at my room tonight. I want you to come," she then lowered her voice, "perfect opportunity to make fun of Austin."

Ally laughed and nodded, "I can't wait then." She made a round to meet all of the cast and engaged in conversations with them for a while.

"Rehearsal!" a voice called out through set.

"Come watch," Austin grabbed her hand leading her with the rest of the cast.

They entered a room with mirrors on all walls and a vacant center with tape marking a few spots. Ally stood on the side next to the speakers and watched as the cast including her boyfriend got ready for rehearsal. The choreographer stood among them instructing them to remind them how the moves went before coming to stand next to Ally.

"5, 6, 7, 8!" he exclaimed before he started the music.

In perfect harmony, Ally saw about 18 people including the love interests break out into a routine she was sure they practiced a lot before.

The simultaneous motions were broken when two voices yelled in pain. The choreographer stopped the music and went to the group with Ally in tow in hurry. She saw Austin and Melanie on the floor holding their heads. "They bumped heads on the spinning move again," a girl informed.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked as the two were helped up by their cast mates. "Yeah. We messed up the distance again," Melanie replied as she rubbed her head. "I told you guys, keep at least an arm length away from each other," the choreographer agitatedly repeated himself.

"We know. We're sorry. Let's run it up again," Austin apologized. As they all got into place Ally went up to him, "This happens often?"

He nodded, "Yeah. It's the reason Melanie and I sneak out in the middle of the night to rehearse in the hotel's choreography room."

"Be careful," she said before retreating to her previous location.

Again, the dancing began this time with no mistakes making Ally hypnotized by the beat. This time, the problem wasn't with Austin and Melanie. While picking his female dancer up for a move, Jack stumbled and pushed Jake making a domino fall among the dancers.

Ally couldn't stay to watch the choreographer scold the cast since she had to go to the studio on set to record her song. She was met with the director and a sound engineer in there.

"Watching rehearsal?" David smiled at her. Ally nodded, "Yeah, it's awesome. But the choreographer seems a little… intense."

He laughed, "He just wants everything to be perfect. Trust me, he's the best in the business."

 _2 hours later…_

 _Now I don't need your wings to fly_ **(1)** _  
No, I don't need a hand to hold in mine this time  
You held me down, but I broke free  
I found the love inside of me  
Now I don't need a hero to survive  
Cause I already saved my life  
Already saved my life  
I already saved my life  
Already saved my life  
I already saved my life_

Now I don't need your wings to fly  
No, I don't need a hand to hold in mine this time  
You held me down, but I broke free  
I found the love inside of me  
Now I don't need a hero to survive  
Cause I already saved my life  
Already saved my life  
I already saved my life  
Already saved my life  
I already saved my life

Now I don't need your wings to fly

Ally took the headphones off and exited the booth to be faced with huge smile from David and her boyfriend. "That was perfect! I think we got it!" David excitedly exclaimed.

"That was amazing, Alls!" Austin smiled encouragingly walking up to her. "Thanks! When did you get here?" she smiled.

"Just in time to hear you sing. You didn't notice because you were too into the music," he replied.

"Speaking of music, how was rehearsal?" she asked.

He shrugged, "We got the hang of it, but we are still messing up in the duet so that means Melanie and I will have to meet up tonight to rehearse."

"Do you have some time to talk now?" she questioned.

"I need to go in hair and makeup. We're starting the shoot in 30 minutes," he disappointedly said.

"Oh, that's okay. I'll just watch then," she sighed.

* * *

"Action!"

Austin launched himself at Melanie throwing her on the bed in an intense make out scene that Ally unfortunately had to watch. "You're not anybody, Beth," he breathed out his lines, "you're somebody."

"Luke," she moaned.

Ally felt her vision blur when she saw his hands creep up Melanie's skirt reminding her of a few unfavorable memories. She suddenly found it hard to breathe and she gripped the table next to her tightly as her ex boyfriend's voice rang in her ears. "You're nobody," his bitter voice seethed, "you deserve this torture." She opened her eyes to find herself in Scott's bedroom in LA. "You never learn," he tore her skirt from her body and pushed her against the wall harder.

Ally opened her eyes again to see herself back on the set of Austin's movie. She saw Austin put his shirt back on while talking to Melanie who was now in a robe.

She turned around and walked out of the building for some air.

 _It's over, Ally. Stop getting scared._

* * *

"Does he do this thing where he tickles you when he hugs you to hear you laugh?" Melanie asked with great curiosity.

"He does that to you too?" Ally questioned fearing that that special thing he did to only her was now ruined.

"Yeah! He does it when we're shooting our hug scenes. He says he does it because he pretends that I'm you so he can be in love and it just automatically happens when he hugs you. He did it so much that it was written into Luke's personality," she informed.

Ally was so engrossed into the conversation with Austin's love interest actress that she barely noticed when Jack and Austin came up to them. "Mel, we still on for tonight?" Austin asked.

 _Mel?!_

Melanie rolled her eyes, "Whoever hears you would think we have a date tonight. Yes, we're still on for our dance rehearsal."

"Having fun, Ally?" Jack asked. She nodded, "Yeah, it's so much fun around here."

"You know what we've all been wondering?" Melanie rhetorically asked, "How you and Austin have not been seen kissing since August."

Ally's smile faltered, "O-oh, well, you see, it's kind of a long story."

"Is it because you got kidnapped and raped by your ex-boyfriend?" she pressed.

 _Well, that's a direct way to put it._

"Melanie, let it go," Austin warned.

"No, come on, he's your boyfriend. It's not like he would hurt you," she continued.

"It's not-"

"Who wants to see Austin and Ally kiss?!" Melanie yelled out to the crowd of people in the room before taking another swing from her bottle.

Cheers were heard as everyone circled the couple. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" they heard chants from everyone else.

Austin looked at her in panic, "You don't have to do it, Alls."

They were pushed even closer together when the rest came even closer.

Suddenly, Ally looked around her to see flashes and blurry things as the noise got louder around her. She saw Scott's face everywhere she turned. "You're nobody," she heard in her ears.

Ally gasped for air as breathing got harder and harder. "Ally!" she heard Austin's faint yell.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

"You deserve this torture," his voice rang out again.

Ally closed her eyes tightly and let out a blood curdling scream to block out the sound.

* * *

 **(1) Hero- Cash Cash ft. Christina Perri**

 **I've been wondering, do you guys want to see the trailer for this movie in this story or not? Or do you want to see some parts of it? Or none at all? Or should make this movie into a story that I'll publish after this story ends?**

 **Not updating until this chapter gets at least 5 reviews.**


	5. I'm Fine

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

Ally lifted her head from the pillow and looked around her in the dimly lit room. She sat up and wiped at her tearstained cheeks. She went to the bathroom and removed the smudged makeup from her face to look more refreshed.

The clock on the wall told her that it was 1am. She looked around her in the small hotel room and decided to go see Austin at his private rehearsal with Melanie. Not bothering to change out of her wrinkled clothes, she left the room and headed for the elevator. The ding the elevator made reminded her of the previous night's events.

 _She opened her eyes to see everyone's eyes on her with shocked expressions. Doing the first thing that came to her mind, she bolted out of the room to the elevator. "Ally!" she heard Austin yell behind her. She quickly got into the elevator before him and repeatedly pressed the close button. She just couldn't face anyone right now, especially him._

 _She arrived at her room and quickly got in locking the door. She slid down to the floor and fell into a sobbing mess. A few minutes later she heard the door being banged and Austin yelling, "Alls!"_

 _She clenched her fists to not open the door and rush into his arms as he kept begging her to open the door._

" _Come on, Alls, I'll get a noise complaint from the other rooms. Just let me in," he finally said softly feeling defeated._

" _I'm sorry," she whimpered. He slid down the door to sit on the floor with his back against the piece of wood separating him and his girlfriend._

" _I'm here for you," she heard him say, "why can't you see that?"_

 _She kept silent as a response partly because she didn't know the answer._

 _Eventually, she heard him get up and head to the elevator. She slowly got up and headed for her bed. Feeling the guilt of ignoring Austin when he was trying to comfort her, she reached for her phone and sent him a text._

 _I'm fine. I'm tired. I'm sorry._

She got out of the elevator and wandered around a little until she found the rehearsal room. The door was slightly ajar showing the contrast of the bright room with the dimly lit hallway.

"Ow, ow, ow," Melanie quickly said as she dropped herself from Austin's grasp. "Sorry," he apologized for accidentally twisting her leg in the wrong direction.

"Let's try this again," she sighed as she jumped into his grasp again. Ally stayed quiet as she watched them attempt to perform a move.

"Get down! Get down!" Austin exclaimed quickly letting his dancing partner down and gripping his side in pain. "I told you not to lean on this side. That's where my scar is," he cringed.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Melanie asked in concern as she helped him sit down on the chair in the room. He focused on the pain until it subsided before answering, "Yeah. Let's just do the beginning then call it a night. I'm exhausted."

Ally stayed a bit hidden to not attract any attention as they stood in the center and started the music. The beginning was a well-choreographed version of a slow song. Her breath hitched when she saw her boyfriend's lips almost touch his costar's. Suddenly, the beat of the song quickened as well as their simultaneous movements.

Just as she was expecting to see a complicated but attention-grabbing dance move, they stopped. "And that's it," Melanie smiled stepping away wiping sweat from her forehead.

"I'll go now. See you in the morning, Mel," Austin said before turning towards the door to see his girlfriend standing there.

 _Again, Mel?!_

"Ally," he speed-walked to her. Melanie's head jolted up at the name and she followed him to the heartbroken girl.

"You have no idea how sorry I am," Melanie immediately said as soon as Ally noticed her.

Ally's mouth opened and closed not knowing what to say.

"I just get crazy when I'm even the slightest drunk and I start saying all this shit. Please don't believe anything I said. I know I hurt your feelings by mentioning all of these things heartlessly. I don't mean them. I think that you are a strong woman for going through all this shit and still smile every day. Please believe me when I say I'm sorry. I've had hell in the past few hours because of what I said."

"Melanie," Ally finally said, "It's alright. I forgive you."

Melanie let out a huge sigh of relief and hugged her, "Thank you so much."

They watched as she got into the elevator leaving them alone. "How are you feeling?" Austin immediately asked, "Because I don't believe your text."

Ally let out a smile, "I'm okay. Thanks for caring."

He smiled back, "It's good to see you smile."

"How was rehearsal?" she changed the subject. He shrugged, "We didn't really get anything done. We were too angry at the beginning to focus."

"Angry?"

He nodded, "I kinda attacked her for embarrassing you."

"You didn't have to do that," she shook her head. "You would do the same."

"What routine were you practicing on?" she walked past him into the room. "The big final duet," he replied following her.

"It looked beautiful," she complimented. He went to the speakers and played the music before leading her to where he was dancing with his cast mate a few minutes ago.

"Let's try it then," he grinned taking her hand and leading her through the routine. "You're good at this," he commented shocked a few minutes later. "Or I've seen Melanie do it," she replied back.

He shook his head spinning her, "You don't get that good just by watching."

He suddenly stopped and turned off the speakers, "That's all we have so far. You're a good dancer. Makes me wonder why you wouldn't audition for this movie when I told you."

"And we're back to this subject," she giggled, "I told you, acting isn't my thing."

"It wasn't my thing either until my manager made me," he shrugged.

"Well, your thing is music and acting, mine is music and painting," she concluded. He stopped turning off the lights, "Oh, right, you paint. I forgot."

She rolled her eyes, "Thanks."

* * *

"How come you finally have a break to talk to me?" she asked when Austin plopped down on the couch next to her. "You're leaving in half an hour and they don't need me on set for this scene," he replied with a bit of disappointment at her leaving.

"Well, good, because I haven't exactly seen much of you alone here," she giggled. "How are you feeling?" he asked her knowing she knew exactly what he was referring to.

"I'm fine. I told you last night."

Something flashed in her mind making her lean over him and lift his shirt to see his reddened healing scar. His eyes widened at her sudden moves.

"It's red. It shouldn't be red. Why is it red? What did you do to make it red?" she asked threateningly. He stuttered, "I-I don't know. M-maybe because of all the work I'm doing."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "It's hurting you when you dance. You're not saying anything so I won't stop you. I saw you last night."

"It's fine. It's just a little sore," he said trying to gently push her back. He noticed red line on her back when her shirt lifted a little.

"Ally?" he asked to get her attention, "What happened to your back?"

She quickly sat back down and straightened her shirt, "I-I fell from my bed."

"And did you happen to fall on metal rods? That's what your bruise looks like," he pointed at her back.

She looked down and stayed silent trying to think of a way to cover this up, "I-I hit the bedside table during my fall."

"None of the guest rooms at my house have bedside tables," he said.

Panic shot through her, "I-I meant…"

He sat up, "You're lying to me."

The lack of response from her shot him to his feet, "Ally, you better not have gone to see Scott in jail!"

She looked up at him and felt anger rise inside her, "So what?! I made my own decision!"

His hands went to his hair in frustration, "Ally, I said no! I told you not to go!"

"And you thought I was going to listen to you?! Let's get one thing clear," she jumped to her feet, "When I told you about going to see him, I was _not_ asking for your permission or opinion because I need _none_ to do what I want!"

He glared at her, "I knew you'd get hurt. I knew he'd hurt you. And I'm right." He lifted her shirt to reveal her bruised back, "You can't tell me this doesn't hurt!"

She jerked back from him and inched towards the door, "I had to go. I had to get answers."

Completely ignoring her words, he deadpanned, "This is why you got scared yesterday. You were doing so well! And now because you didn't listen to me, you're back to square one."

Her jaw dropped and she fought back, "I got scared yesterday because of everyone crowding me! I'm not back to square one! At least I'm talking now! I'm not freaking out when you touch me! I'm getting better because I finally have answers!"

The room grew silent after her shout as they glared each other down.

"You think you're doing better," he said a few moments later, "I think the opposite. You're still paranoid of every noise you hear. I can still feel the hesitation in every move you make."

She shook her head, "I'm not gonna stand here and let you tell me what I feel. I'm leaving. I have a flight to catch."

She turned and left him behind in that room.

He ran his hands through his hair letting out a groan before punching the wall in front of him. He cringed and crouched down cradling his bleeding fist.

* * *

 **I'm having a hard time in taking sides in this argument. What do you think? No m** **atter what side you take, the next chapter will be interesting for you;)**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter.**


	6. Visiting

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't** **make up.**

* * *

He was coming home. Only for a visit and that made the idea of seeing him again a little more bearable to her. It's been two weeks since she left Vancouver and since she's last talked to him. She didn't have time to think about it in the first week because she was in France for work.

This week though brought everything crashing to her. After many sleepless hours thinking about it she got over it. Frankly, she isn't mad anymore. She almost forgot what they fought about. All that she remembers was that she was hurt after his attempts to evaluate her mental health. But she thought thoroughly through it and decided that he had the right to want to protect her but attacking her for her decision was not okay. Ally was glad that she had time to cool off before having to face him. Lord knows what she would've said to him in the midst of her anger.

She could only hope that he felt the same.

From what she heard from Cassidy, he was arriving at dawn. A perfect solution to her not wanting to talk immediately problem. She was going to sleep it through until the morning and avoid him for as long as she can. Talking about their problems when they're both exhausted won't do anyone good. And she didn't want to be the one to make the first move just in case he was still mad. They would have to talk sooner or later though. They had dinner with his parents and sister and Elliot, who were completely oblivious to their situation.

Except that it was dawn and she couldn't sleep. She never slept that night. She was anxious. She kept straining her ear to hear the front door open and slam shut and the shuffling of his feet and his suitcase.

If this was how she going to feel his entire visit, she was glad he was only staying for two days.

A sound jolted her from dozing off making her think he was there. There wasn't any noise after it that told her where he was. The bit of sunshine streaking through the window made her realize that a jacket fell off its rack.

The actual sound of the front door opening decreased her confidence and she suddenly wished that she was still waiting for him to arrive or that she was asleep at the moment.

She kept her eyes closed and waited to hear him come upstairs. She had no plans to get up and see him. She was going to follow through her original plan and pretend to be asleep.

The door to her bedroom suddenly creaked open. She heard him come in and place something on her vanity. She slowed her breath down and kept her eyes closed to keep him under the impression that she wasn't awake. His footsteps got closer to her and she felt his hand smooth her hair and him placing a kiss on her temple.

"I love you," he whispered to her ear before retreating and quietly leaving the room closing the door behind him.

Surprisingly for her, she didn't have flashes of her ex-boyfriend before her eyes at his kiss. She took that as a good sign of improvement.

When she was sure he went to his room, she got up and went to her vanity to see what he put there. She picked the red bag up and took out its contents.

She immediately recognized the objects on her vanity. A set of paintbrushes and paints lie together with a note over them. Taking the note, she read it.

' _Your thing is music and acting, mine is music and painting.'_

 _Now you can express your anger towards me in your paintings._

 _-Austin_

He remembered that she couldn't paint because she lost her paintbrushes during her move to his house. She smiled at how beautifully he considered her anger justified and how he thought she wanted to release it.

Except that there wasn't any anger left in her.

Taking the silence outside as a sign that he went to bed, she quietly went downstairs to the room Austin emptied for her paintings. She took a seat in front of the blank canvas and let her thoughts translate to colors.

* * *

Ally flipped the last of the pancakes on to the plate and stepped back to admire her work on the dining table. She had made breakfast for them to talk over in hopes that he wakes up soon. She ended up sleeping at 6am and woke up at 12. Assuming that he was even more tired from his flight, she took her time making the food.

"Hey," a hoarse voice said from behind her.

Turning around, she felt her self-control crumble and lunged herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.

He chuckled into her hair as she clung onto him. The moment they pulled away, they simultaneously said, "I'm sorry."

He looked down for a moment before saying, "I should be the one sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I can't tell you what to do. I can't control you. You like your independence and I should respect that."

"I already forgave you," she said, "I saw your gift."

He gave her a hopeful smile, "Did you like it?" She took his hand in hers, "I loved it. It's so thoughtful and useful. And I apologize for not letting you protect me. I would feel the same thing if I were in your shoes."

Ten minutes later, they were shoving food into their mouths with talking to catch up.

"I haven't seen anyone other than Cassidy and Trish for so long," Ally commented when they were mentioned. "I was with the guys on Monday and Kira was there, but I miss the group."

"You won't see them while you're here?" she asked.

He gulped down his drink and shook his head, "The guys are each in a different city for work except for Elliot and Kira and Trish went to visit their families. I'll see Cass and Elliot with my mom tonight at dinner. You're coming, right?"

She nodded, "Mimi sent me a special invite begging me to come."

"She likes you way more than she likes me."

* * *

She turned on the dishwasher and headed to the small studio where Austin went a few minutes ago. When she entered the room, she saw him sitting on a chair near the small desk in the corner leaning his elbows on his knees with his hands in his hair. She heard him breathing roughly and laid eyes on a crumbled paper.

The color drained from her face as she stuttered, "A-Austin…"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he growled not moving at all.

She stayed silent making him repeat his question, "Why didn't you fucking tell me?"

"T-there was never a right moment," she weakly explained.

He shot out of his seat making the chair fall back as he glared at her, "You should've told me!"

"I was going to, okay?!" she exclaimed, "But you were injured and then you went to shoot the movie and I didn't want to tell you something that could distract you from your recovery!"

He scoffed, "Recovery? What recovery? Because according to this," he bent and picked the paper up, "I'm never going to recover."

The paper slipped from his hand as silence took over. "The doctor said it was only an 80% chance. You still have that 20% to hold on to," she told him.

"Ally, that's just bullshit doctors tell you to keep you hopeful!" he raised his voice, "It's just like when they tell cancer patients they have 20% chance of surviving when everyone knows they're dying!"

"That's not how I look at it," she sighed, "I think positively. I wouldn't need to tell you if I knew it wasn't true. I think you should take that 20% and make it your 100%."

He backed away from her when she got closer and shook his head, "If I can't trust you to be the one to tell me this kind of information, who can I trust?"

He brushed past her out of the studio and left his house slamming the door behind him. Ally picked the hospital report up and stared at the information on it.

It's not like she forgot to tell him. She always remembered. She was waiting for the right time. If she told him during his bed rest, his health would have deteriorated. If she told him when he left to Vancouver, he wouldn't be able to perform his job as well. She didn't tell him because she cared about him, not because she didn't care.

She crumbled the paper and threw it against the wall when she got tired of seeing that word staring up at her.

 _Infertility._

* * *

 **I'm so sorry for not updating in so long, but in my defense school is stressful.**

 **I know what you're thinking right now. Will Austin and Ally have a fight at the end of every chapter? You'll find out why in the next chapter.**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter.**


	7. Disaster Dinner

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"Aww, I was really hoping that's a wig," Mimi said referring to her son's brunette hair as soon as he walked into the house. Austin forced a smile for his mom and hugged her back, "Hey, Mom."

They walked further into the living room where Mike stood proudly. Austin returned his father's open arms with a simple nod as his mom asked, "Where's Ally?"

A pang of pain sliced through his chest as he replied, "She's coming from the studio."

 _I don't know if she_ _ **is**_ _coming._

"Oh, okay, I'll just start setting up then. Your sister should be here with Elliot soon," with a pat on his arm, she walked into the kitchen leaving him with his father.

Austin took a seat on the nearest couch as his father sat directly across from him. "So," Mike started hoping to start a conversation before realizing he had no idea how so he stuttered, "I-I like your hair."

Austin gave him a nod again. "It really brings out your eyes," Mike weakly continued.

Austin snorted unable to hide his amusement, "Thanks. Do you think I should keep it?" Mike didn't catch on to the sarcasm in his voice.

None of them recognized the young man that said that. He couldn't believe that he actually said something civil to his father while Mike couldn't be happier.

"I-If you want to," Mike said not wanting to say something that would upset his son, "How's the movie going?"

 _Movie… Visiting… Ally… Infertility..._

That immediately put Austin back in a sour mood and introduced one-worded answers into his vocabulary once again.

"Good."

His father's smile faded as he tried to figure out if he said something wrong.

"We're here!" Cassidy's voice rang through the house.

Austin stood up just as his sister came in running to him. He couldn't help the smile that took over his features as soon as she hugged him tightly. "I missed you," he said quietly into her hair.

"What about me?" Elliot pouted. Austin laughed, "Hey, man."

"Now that we're done with the hello's, WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR HAIR?!" Cassidy exclaimed as soon as he was done greeting his best friend.

"I swear it wasn't me," he lifted his hands in the air to defend himself, "it's for the movie."

"You won't keep it though, right?" Elliot asked.

"Mike here says I should," Austin nodded his head towards his father.

Cassidy playfully glared at her dad, "Dad, why would you lie to him?"

Austin shrugged, "It's okay. This wouldn't be the first time."

That echoed silence throughout the room before his mother purposely changed the subject, "Austin, why don't you call Ally and ask her when she's getting here? Dinner's almost ready?"

Austin internally winced since he hasn't talked to his girlfriend ever since he stormed out of the house. He ignored all of her calls and stayed in the studio writing.

"Oh, we saw her car outside when we were parking," Cassidy said just as the doorbell rang. They all left him to go greet her. He stayed behind in the living room and listened to their talks.

She walked in smiling with his family. Her smile faded a little upon seeing him before she walked up to him and hugged him. He stayed motionless for a split second before she whispered, "For your family." He hugged her back in agreement to act okay for his family's sake.

* * *

"How are you guys now? You know, after the whole ex-girlfriend thing," Austin asked taking a sip from his drink. "We're better than ever," Cassidy smiled looking lovingly at her boyfriend. "I told you I'd fix it," Elliot proudly stated.

"That's great. So, you two worked it out alone, without anyone's help?" he pressed.

His sister looked confusedly at him, "Yeah?"

Austin nodded and busied himself with cutting his steak muttering in a low voice so only his father would hear, "What a great father."

Everyone else at the table noticed Mike stiffening in shock before going back as if nothing happened.

Mike cleared his throat trying to change the subject, "So, uh, how come you came to visit? You told me you had a really busy schedule."

"I lied," Austin replied as if stating the obvious. "Well, do you know where lying gets you?" Mike said with a joking tone.

 _Far away from you._

"You can't be the one telling him how lying is bad," Mimi stated.

Austin, Ally, Cassidy, and Elliot looked at each other with confused expressions at her harsh and bitter tone towards her husband.

"Mimi," Mike said warningly. "What? I'm just saying that if you lie just as much as him, you can't blame him," she replied.

Ally coughed to distract the arguing couple before it escalates even more.

Austin was actually feeling kind of happy because of his mom defending him in front of his father. She tended to take his father's side a lot lately. And he loved the horrified look on his face.

Mike got up and busied himself with wiping off the stain of sauce on his tie.

"Are you two okay?" Cassidy asked carefully eyeing her parents. Her mom nodded and gave her a fake smile, "Fine."

Realization dawned Austin as he found his mom's reply familiar. "You guys are in a fight, aren't you?" he asked looking for the confirmation of his suspicions.

The lack of response from his mom and the guilty look from his father gave him just that. "What happened?" his sister asked in worry. He would ask the same thing, but he was too into his anger to care. Mike stood there next to his chair waiting for something to happen.

"I came home to find him on the phone with someone telling them how he regrets marrying me again," Mimi said bitterly.

Suddenly, all he could see was red. He shot out of his seat and grabbed his father by his collar and slammed him against the wall. The aggressiveness of his move was proved by the women's screams in the back.

"You just have to hurt her, don't you?!" Austin yelled in his face, "You can't help it! You see her happy and decide to ruin it for her!"

"I never wanted to hurt her!" Mike defended himself struggling against his son's tight grip.

"You love seeing all of us in pain!" Austin didn't even hear what his father said, "You watched your daughter cry because of her boyfriend for days without doing anything! I fucking even gave you a chance to prove to me what a good father you'd be to us! You took it for granted! Just like you take everything and everyone else!"

"I couldn't interfere with their problems! They're adults!" his father exclaimed.

Austin's anger drove his fist to his father's face. He watched as he fell to the ground with a bleeding nose from his punch.

"Austin!" he heard Ally scream behind him.

The blood on his knuckles excited him. It brought a new rush of adrenaline that he hasn't had for a long time. He wanted to make his father feel the pain he made them feel for years. He wanted to take out all his anger that he had to keep against his father on him. He finally had the chance to make him feel what he felt. He wanted to see more blood. Maybe that knife on the dining table would do that.

"I should've never let you come anywhere near us," he growled leaning over his father's body, "I should've stopped that wedding. I should've pushed you away from them, just like I did."

He drove his fist into his father's face time after time again. Someone tried to pull him away but his arm shot out pushing them away. He felt arms around him yanking him away from his father.

"Does that feel good?!" he shouted, "Do you feel the pain we felt?! Did you come back only to make us feel it all over again?!"

Elliot's arms around his body kept a firm grip stopping him from going for more.

Austin noticed Ally on the floor with a bleeding hand and a broken wine glass next to her looking at him with a terrified expression as his mom helped her up. She was the one trying to pull him away that he pushed off. He was the reason her hand was bleeding.

"Enough!" Elliot yelled. Cassidy rushed to her dad's side helping him up wiping the blood from his face with a napkin.

Austin stayed still long enough for Elliot to loosen his hold. "I never wanted to hurt you," Mike began, "you're my son-"

"How many times should I tell you I'm not your son?!" he exclaimed getting closer to him before getting pushed outside the room by a small body.

Suddenly in the living room, he glared at Ally who was gladly glaring back.

"What the fu-" he was interrupted by her.

"Upstairs! Now!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. He went up the stairs only to get away from his father. They went into his childhood bedroom in silence.

"Why did you-" he yelled.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" she shouted, "Beating your own father up?!"

"He deserves it! He hurt her!" he exclaimed.

"So, you immediately attacked him without giving him a chance to explain himself?!" she argued.

His anger suddenly was directed towards her too, "Does he deserve a chance?! If you don't remember, he left us!"

Her hands flew to the air in frustration, "Oh my god, you have got to stop milking that excuse for every mistake you make!"

"Oh, I'm milking it?" he asked rhetorically, "I'm not the one who uses the same fucking excuse for all her problems! I'm not the one blaming my ex-girlfriend kidnapping and raping me for not being able to even kiss my girlfriend! I'm not the one using that excuse for not being professional with my job! You even use it to explain why you suddenly want to be antisocial! You just want this attention! You love the attention so much that you didn't even tell me that I'm infertile just to keep the attention on you! If you want all eyes on you all the time, find a new sob story!"

Ally stepped back in shock. The only sounds audible were her blood dripping onto the hardwood floor and his hard breathing. She looked down at her bleeding hand and cradled it in her other before looking at him.

He rolled his eyes at her injury, "Oh, you know that was accidental."

A few silent beats later, she said, "Have I ever told you that the first time Scott hit me was also accidental?"

 _Shit._

He ran after her as she raced to get away from him. "Ally!" he yelled chasing her down the stairs. He finally got a grip on her shoulder and turned her around.

"No!" she yelled backing away from his touch. They were under the eyes of his family now.

"You don't get to apologize now," she swallowed her tears, "maybe you're right. I _am_ an attention seeker. Maybe I always want all eyes on me, but I didn't tell you you're infertile for your own sake, not to keep the attention on me. And I apologized to you. I have been texting you apologies all day. I've kept up with all of your problems and slip ups, but not this time."

Their audience gasped at the _infertile_ part of her rant.

"I-"

"I hope that the words you said will catch up to you one day, but I won't stay around to watch you say more shit, to me or to your family."

She turned around and ran to the front door. She accidentally tried to open it with her wounded hand making her whimper in pain. Elliot came up behind her and opened the door for her. She looked at him with grateful teary eyes before making her way to her car. She kept her hand in the pocket of her dress to stop dripping everywhere, but that just increased the blood stains on the white fabric.

* * *

 _The next morning…_

Austin opened the door to see his three best friends. Despite his sour mood, a smile crept to his face.

"What can I say? I thought you'd need some friends," Elliot smiled.

"Well, you look like shit," Ryder said with a smile.

"Go take a shower and get ready," Dez smirked, "We're going to the studio."

"You think you're ready to talk now?" Dez said through the intercom. Austin shook his head and adjusted the headphones on his ears, "One more time."

He was grateful that his bandmates were letting him vent into recording a song he wrote the previous day. Even if they got what they needed, they still let him sing it again.

"So, you told Ally that she was an attention seeker?" Dez asked as they walked out.

"Is," Austin corrected opening the door. "Do you actually believe that?" Elliot questioned as they stood under the shade.

"Well, I used to not believe that, but the more I think of it, she is. Especially with that show she put on at my mom's place," Austin answered truthfully.

Ryder fidgeted uncomfortably, "Don't you think that was a bit harsh? I mean put yourself in her shoes."

Austin gawked at him, "You can't be seriously taking her side? I had just found out that my father regrets marrying my mom and she makes it all about how hurt she is."

"Ever thought that maybe she was too hurt and angry to think straight? I mean you are the poster child for not thinking straight," Ryder said.

Austin rolled his eyes and turned to go to his car. "Walk away," he heard Ryder say behind him stopping him in his tracks, "just like you walk away from all your problems. Walk away from the truth that you refuse to believe. Walk away from realizing that you took your anger out on your girlfriend. Or should I say ex-girlfriend?"

Austin grit his teeth as he turned around and punched his bandmate. "Hey!" Dez pushed him away as Elliot helped Ryder up.

"Back to dealing with your problems by violence, are you?" Ryder taunted him, "Hey, go down to that bar down the street and make the headlines of every magazine by getting your ass drunk again. Fight with a few people down there. I know that entertains you."

Using his old alcoholism against him only made him angrier, but Dez pushed him away to his car.

Austin flipped his angry bandmate off, a gesture that Ryder gladly returned, and drove off to do exactly what he said.

* * *

 **In case you don't know, when a sentence is in italics, it's whoever is the main character of the chapter's thoughts.**

 **There were a couple of reviews I wanted to reply to, so I'm gonna do it here because I want you all to read them:**

 _ **Guest- Sooooo do u have all the chapters ready and ask for 5 reviews to update...or do u wait a number of days and ask for reviews anyways? Just curious..mi love your story btw**_

 **I have the entire story written in my head. I just wait until the five reviews are achieved before starting to write the next chapter into my laptop. It might take several days but that's only because each chapter takes a long time to get written. One way to make my updates more frequent is by reviewing so that the five reviews are up quicker so that I start working on the chapter sooner. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

 _ **LonelyStar- May I ask beforehand, will there be cheating in this story? I just wanted to ask before I start this series. I have a great dislike for cheating stories and don't want to invest in reading them if there are. Thank you.**_

 **Does the story really seem to be heading in that direction? Because cheating will not take place anywhere in this story. I find cheating a very drained topic that is used so much that it lost its fire. The characters' personalities don't have that in them. I may be biased, but I would recommend you to keep reading for more exciting plots that are not cheating;)**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter!**


	8. Normal

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

She was back exactly to where she was a year ago with her thoughts about Austin. She remembers being doubtful of his good side. His actions always surprised her, good or bad. She didn't think she'd actually dread her best friend's wedding because he was her date. She suddenly wished she was never picked to be the maid of honor or that he wasn't the best man. On top of having to spend time with each other, they had a surprise planned for the happy couple that involved them talking to each other.

She wasn't sure how she felt about him after what he said. She just knew that she wanted to avoid him, but she also wanted to be close to him.

It's like she was halfway to hate but still thinking of love.

Ally wasn't sure what he did after she left his parents' house, but she knew that he punched Ryder and got drunk in the same bar he used to go to and got into a fight the next day. He was going back to his old ways, she was sure.

She drove to her parents' house that night not knowing where else to go since her friends were all out of town or busy. She'll never forget her parents' confused and furious expressions when they saw their daughter crying on their doorstep holding her bleeding hand and blood staining her white dress while she was supposed to be with her boyfriend.

They pretty much hated him now.

Ally sighed in relief when she saw Trish exit the dressing room in her wedding gown. "What took you so long?"

"Second thoughts," Trish replied as she turned to look at her reflection.

"What? Why?" she asked. "Don't worry I got over it. I love this dress and I'm not changing it," Trish calmed her down.

Ally let out a breath, "Good, because there's no time to make a new dress now."

"So, is this it? Is this how I'll look at my wedding?" she looked for approval.

Ally nodded proudly, "He'll fall to his knees." She got up and hugged the bride-to-be, "I'm so happy for you, Trish. I hope he keeps you happy."

They shared some happy teary moments before Trish went back to change out of the gown.

"Ally?"

"Hmm?" Ally mumbled looking out the car window.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Trish asked keeping her eyes on the road.

Ally lifted her head and stared at her, "Mind what?"

"Are you sure it won't be hard for you to be at the wedding? I mean you're still getting over your breakup."

Ally gave her a small smile, "I'm fine, Trish. I'm done crying over guys that don't deserve my tears. I won't not go to my best friend's wedding just because he broke my heart. I'll live my life and move on."

Trish nodded with a smile, "Good for you, Ally. Never stay hung up on a guy!"

Truth is she didn't know if she was really going to follow through with that plan.

* * *

"Geez, don't be too happy," Austin frowned as he walked up to Ally. She scoffed, "Can you blame me?"

"Just focus on why we're here," he snapped, "I didn't come here straight from the airport to fight with you."

She turned her back to him and walked to one of the flower pots next to the church pews, "The fireworks aren't well-hidden and I can't hide them well. I tried a hundred times."

He smirked, "So you called me here to do this simple task because you can't handle it?"

She rolled her eyes, "I called you here because you are with me in this surprise and I'm not gonna do all the work by myself."

He went to another flower pot and tried to conceal the box within the leaves. After several attempts, he sighed, "I don't think this is gonna work. I mean when the fireworks start, they'll burn the flowers and cause a fire."

She nodded, "We need to think of a new place to put them in."

He sat down on the pew and watched her pace up and down the aisle as they both came up with ideas. Suddenly, she stopped and headed to the altar, "I know!"

He stood up in confusion, "Know what?"

She looked around her excitedly, "We'll put them next to the altar and light them up when they kiss!"

"But how will we hide them?" he asked. He saw her bubble burst as she looked down, "I haven't exactly thought about that."

He grabbed one of the boxes and stared concentrating before saying, "How about not hiding them at all?"

She snorted, "Okay, I know that would solve the problem, but it kinda takes away the element of surprise."

He crouched down and placed the small box next to the step that led to the altar. "They won't notice a small box next to the steps. They'll be too overwhelmed."

She stepped down and backed away looking at the steps and agreed, "The flowers and diamonds at the decorations will distract them."

"Since we have extra, should we test it now?" he suggested. She shrugged and went to the other side of the step to place another box there.

"3, 2, 1, now!" she counted down before they lit the fireworks and stepped back to look at the appearance it gave.

The fireworks lit the dim room and golden sparkles framing the altar. He looked at Ally next to him to see her reaction to see her with a huge smile and eyes sparkling with the light from the fireworks.

He turned his head to the lights again until they ended.

"This is going to be the perfect surprise! I can't wait! I've always imagined my wedding with fireworks!" She rambles when she's excited. He knew that.

"Really?" he asked, "You've never told me that."

She cleared her throat and busied herself with taking out the other boxes from the rest of the fancy pots, "It never came up."

He couldn't help but comment, "Just like telling me I can't have kids did?"

She sighed, "I already apologized to you about that. You still haven't apologized to your father about beating him up."

He glared at her, "I have every right to be angry at him."

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, "Why? Because he left you? Don't you think that excuse got a little old?"

"Old doesn't mean it's not true," he retorted. She shrugged, "You know, normal people would've gotten over it and listened to his explanation a long time ago."

"Even if I wasn't mad at him because of that, he still said he regrets marrying my mom. And you don't have the right to tell me what normal is!" he lost his temper, "You're still hung up on Scott even though it's been months! Normal people aren't like that!"

She took a step closer to him and exclaimed, "What exactly is normal in my situation?! You break your mom's heart every time you give your dad the cold shoulder just because you refuse to listen! Your sister completely breaks down when she's with me because of you! You cause so much sadness in this family!"

"You think I'm the only one who causes the problems?! He fucking regrets marrying her! He's the problem here!" he yelled as he stepped closer to her.

"And you're the one who jumps to conclusions because you think you know best! You're wrong! They wouldn't be better off without Mike! They'd live happier without you! They'd be the perfect family without you and your problems! Without your persistent alcoholism and temper!" she exclaimed.

She gasped and backed away from him shutting her eyes tightly and wrapping her arms around herself in preparation when he lifted his clenched fist in anger.

He slammed it on one of the pews before looking at her shrunk posture away from him in fear. When nothing but a slamming sound came, she opened her eyes to see him staring at her in heartbreak with wide eyes.

"You thought I'd hit you?" he asked in a sad, low voice. She looked down at her healing hand. He followed her gaze and swallowed.

"Can you blame me for getting scared?" she asked, "I've gone through this before."

He narrowed his eyes, "But I'm not Scott, Ally. I accidentally hurt you last time, but I wouldn't intentionally hurt you."

"That's the same thing he said to me once," she whispered. His anger returning, he snapped, "See? This is why you shouldn't have gone to see Scott. You would've gotten over him by now."

Her vulnerability vanished as she exclaimed, "Oh, we're back to that? Me visiting him has nothing to do with getting over him! This is something that will follow me for the rest of my life! You have to understand that!"

"And my father leaving me at a young age won't?!" he yelled, "How do you exactly justify your statement?!"

"Your father is trying to apologize; Scott isn't!" she shouted.

Ally saw him open his mouth to say something before closing his eyes tightly and gritting his teeth and grab onto the pew next to him for support as he held his abdomen in pain.

She confusedly asked, "A-Are you okay?"

His hand crept under his shirt as he breathed hardly, "Y-Yeah."

His hand came out with blood on it. "Shit," he cursed before gathering his strength and walking past her to leave. "Wait!" she grabbed onto his arm to stop him, "Are you okay?"

He yanked his arm from her grasp and continued walking, "I need to get home. It's not like you care anyways."

* * *

 **I had a strange sense of déjà vu while writing this chapter since they aren't dating here and almost hate each other like they used to at the beginning of the story.**

 **I hear wedding bells for the next chapter!**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter!**


	9. Best Man & Maid of Honor

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"There's the groom!" Elliot exclaimed when Dez emerged from the bathroom in his tux. "You look adorable," Austin teased. "You look like a waiter," Ryder stated.

Dez rolled his eyes, "Are we going to be happy for the groom, or are we just gonna keep teasing him?"

The guys got up and went up to their best friend taking turns in hugging him. "Congrats, man. I never thought you'd be the first one to get married," Austin smiled.

"Thanks, buddy. Your turn will come soon," Dez replied. "Mine will come even sooner," Elliot smirked.

That grabbed Austin's attention, "Excuse me?"

Elliot's face paled when he realized he just told his girlfriend's brother and best friend he's gonna propose to her. "I-I mean… um… you know…"

Austin shook his head, "She's too young. No way in hell."

Elliot's shoulder sunk in disappointment, "I was really hoping I'd get to talk to you about it before you say no."

"Austin, don't jump to conclusions. Hear him out first," Ryder defended Elliot.

Austin sighed, "Let's talk some other day. Tonight, we make sure we show Dez a proper celebration."

Whistles and woo's erupted among them as they passed around glasses of champagne. Ryder gave him a pointed look and didn't give Austin his glass.

"I'm not gonna get drunk right now. At least not before the reception," Austin said grabbing his glass from Ryder.

"I'm keeping my eyes on you then," he sighed.

Austin ignored him and raised his glass in the air.

"A marriage makes of two fractional lives a whole; it gives to two purposeless lives a work, and doubles the strength of each to perform it; it gives to two questioning natures a reason for living, and something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mys-" Austin was interrupted from his toast by Dez.

"Are you quoting Mark Twain on me?" he asked.

"I knew that sounded familiar," Ryder said.

Austin rolled his eyes, "Can you just get the idea and not comment?"

"For love!" Elliot raised his glass and clanked with the others.

"By the way, don't think that just because you're getting married means you got rid of us. We're not going anywhere," Austin warned and took a sip.

"Why sadden me on my wedding day?" Dez jokingly frowned.

Austin was relieved to know that nothing changed between them. He apologized millions of times to his best friends, mom, and sister until they got annoyed from him. He still refused to talk to his father though. And he had mixed emotions when it came to talking to Ally.

* * *

Austin made his way to the bride's room and knocked the door. Kira opened the door and let him in.

"You look beautiful, Kira," he smiled and kissed her cheek. She blushed, "Thank you."

"Kira? Who's there?" he heard Trish ask from inside.

"Best man reporting for duty," Austin said and walked deeper into the room to see the women all around the mirror with champagne glasses in their gowns.

Austin whistled, "Damn, he's lucky." Trish smiled and turned around, "You look handsome."

Austin smirked and ran his hand through his hair, "You think I rock this James Bond look?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd be blonde again by now, but this'll do," she shrugged.

"Not my fault I got here the day before the wedding," Austin defended himself, "I haven't even seen my family yet. Which reminds me," he scanned the room.

Ally was watching from the conversation from her spot silently. Her breath hitched when he started walking towards her with a big smile and open arms. She shut her eyes tight just as he walked past her to his sister. She sighed in relief and busied herself with adjusting Trish's skirt.

She was still curious to know what happened to him last night when he was suddenly in pain, but she didn't want to talk to him after what he said.

She watched him hug his sister and tell her something while she hid behind the huge skirt. She caught a look of pain in his eyes. She knew what it was because he had the same look when he was recovering from his gunshot wound. Only she recognized that look. The rest of his face glowed with happiness though.

* * *

"You may kiss the bride."

Fireworks erupted from the sides of the altar distracting the newlyweds from kissing as they gazed around in shock. "Congrats, man!" Austin said over the noise of everyone's clapping and cheering.

Dez looked at him with wide eyes, "You did this?!"

Austin proudly nodded, "Me and Ally." Dez gave him a grateful smile before turning to see his new wife hug the maid of honor tightly.

Trish and Ally were both crying. Dez went and hugged Ally to thank her while Trish hugged Austin.

"Kiss already!" Cassidy laughed.

Just before the fireworks ended, the happy couple shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

* * *

Ally laughed along with Ryder as they danced around the dancefloor with everyone else doing the same around them. "Really, though, since he hated his hair so much, you'd expect him to change it back when he got home. He just likes complaining," he smiled.

"Well, it's Austin you're talking about. Of course, he likes to make a big deal out of nothing," she said.

"There you go," he spun her around into someone else's arms.

Her smile dropped immediately with the moment she landed into his arms.

"Just my luck," he muttered.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Deal with it. It's a partner switching dance."

"I need to talk to you about something," he changed the subject and tightened his hold on her waist as his other hand held hers.

"What?" she said blankly. "I have an interview coming up, and I was wondering what to say if they ask me about us," he said.

She shrugged, "I don't care."

With a little disappointment, he asked, "Well, what if they ask me why we broke up? Should I lie or tell the truth?"

"I don't care as long as you don't throw me under the bus," she said before getting spun into her next partner's arms.

* * *

"It's almost time for the bouquet toss," Kira announced coming up to Ally and Trish.

"But I left it at the room," Trish said.

Ally drank the rest of her glass and said, "I'll go get it."

She exited the hall and sighed at the comforting silence. Loud songs and talking surrounded her in there.

She took her keycard out and opened the door to the room reserved for them in the hotel. She shut the door behind her once she entered.

Ally gasped the moment she turned around. Austin was leaning on the desk panting and sweating. What caught her attention the most was the huge red stain on his shirt.

"Are you okay?!" she exclaimed and ran to him. He waved her off and grabbed the wall for support to reach the bathroom.

"I'm fine," he breathed out. She went to him and grabbed his arm to help him go to the bathroom. He didn't reject her help.

She sat him down on the closed toilet and kneeled in front of him. His breath got even more labored as she unbuttoned his dress shirt.

"What happened?" she gasped when she saw bleeding stitches going across his abdomen just barely brushing his scar.

"Last day of shooting…" he gasped for breath as she grabbed a towel, "camera equipment fell from the top shelf and a sharp edge slashed my abdomen. I-It bleeds and hurts when I do too much work."

"This is gonna hurt," she warned before pressing the towel against his wound to stop the bleeding.

He gritted his teeth and tried to stop himself from screaming. "It's okay. Just a little more," she encouraged him.

Her voice soothed his pain a little and calmed him down. He opened his eyes to see her concentrating on adding more pressure to his wound. The concerned expression on her face assured her that she still cares after everything he said to her.

"I think it stopped," she said removing the now blood stained towel. She got up and wet another towel before returning to her position.

She wiped the blood on his skin and asked, "Better?"

He nodded tiredly, "Going to be."

"All done," she smiled sweetly at him.

"There's an extra shirt in that bag. Can you get it for me?" he dazedly asked.

She got up and retrieved the black dress shirt before helping him out it on.

"Will you come down again tonight?" she asked as she buttoned his shirt.

"I just need to rest a little first. Why?" he replied.

"Because you're my date, and I don't want to look like the lone wolf in the pictures," she said.

"I'll be there. Don't worry," he said.

She helped him to the bed and laid him down. Ally went to soak his dirty shirt in cold water.

This seemed to familiar. Her cleaning blood of his clothes while he slept in pain. She was taken back to his house suddenly when he was still recovering from his gunshot wound. These things happened many times during the day.

Still in a daze, Ally went to him and kissed his forehead. "I love you," she whispered before grabbing Trish's bouquet and leaving the room quietly.

* * *

 **Are you guys still interested in knowing why Mike left his family?**

 **I know this chapter isn't at its best, but I rewrote it so many times that it got boring to me, so sorry for the mistakes/badly written scenes in this one.**

 **To get excited for the next chapter, I'm just gonna tell you one word: Truth.**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter.**


	10. Guilt

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

His head pounded like crazy the moment he woke up. He shut his eyes tightly in regret. He promised himself he wouldn't drink like that again. He promised his mom and sister. He promised himself he wouldn't go back to that goddamned bar again. He just felt freer when drunk. He forgot all his problems and mistakes.

And that stupid teddy bear his mom and sister made him put in his car would bring all the guilt flooding back on the ride home from the bar even when he was drunk out of his mind. It made him raid wherever he had any alcoholic beverage in his house when he got home.

That empty, cold house. Even her art room was cleared out when he was gone. He hated it. It made him feel alone. He couldn't go in there and admire her artwork to relax. He barely went into his studio. Every time he would set foot there, he remembered what happened between him and her. The hospital report, their fight, infertility…

He found a song she wrote on the desk there. He figured she might have forgotten it, but after he read the lyrics, he was sure she left it to rub his guilt in.

He opened his eyes wearily to check the time only to realize that he was late to his interview. He gasped and shot out of his bed into the bathroom while answering an angry call from his manager.

* * *

"Austin Moon, you had a busy year. Three albums, a small tour, and filming a movie. Don't forget the love flame you found on the way. What do you have to say about that?"

Austin smiled and ignored the part about his love life, "I hope it makes up for last year where all I did was screw up. My solo album was meant to show my fans that I'm sorry for what I've done and that I'm back better than ever. My album with my band showed them that I'm still with my brothers no matter what happened. I feel blessed that they've stayed with me through all of my mistakes."

"Your mistakes have clearly not ceased. You were pictured punching bandmate and best friend, Ryder Mccarten, a while ago and seen leaving the same bar drunk more than 2 nights in a row, not including last night."

"I'm human. I make mistakes. I'm young and hotheaded. You shouldn't be surprised when a guy my age gets into a fight with his best friend. Ryder is my brother and I don't want to lose him, so I apologized and we moved on from that. I hope everyone can too," Austin replied.

"What about your drinking problem?"  
Austin shook his head, "I promise you I'm not going back to my old ways. I'm just going through some stuff right now."

He didn't know if he could keep that promise. He should stop making all these empty promises.

"Why can't you talk it out with your family or girlfriend, Ally Dawson instead of drinking?  
 _Because it's about them._

"My family is a great support system, but I sometimes want to be alone. I don't want to talk about everything with them," he said.

"Can't you talk about it with your girlfriend?" The audience cheered at the mention of her.

 _Please stop calling her my girlfriend._

"Well… you see… the thing is," he fumbled with his fingers, "Ally and I are no longer together."

Screams and boo's erupted from the crowd and some people even started crying.

"What?! Why?!"  
"We each had our own lives to figure out and our schedules clashed all the time. We agreed that it was best to end things for now and see where our paths lead us," he twisted the truth.

"When did this happen?!"

"When I was filming _My Wish_ in Vancouver," he said.

"How are you feeling?"

Austin closed his eyes momentarily to not reveal his real feelings completely, "I'm coping. She gave me the best months in my life, but sometimes life works the opposite way. I still love and support her and can't wait to see her make her way back to the top and be an idol to every young girl out there for not letting her past control her."

Austin stared at the audience in sadness as he watched them cry for him and Ally to get back together. More guilt was added to his already existing guilt because of how heartbroken all of them looked.

* * *

He turned the volume up on his radio to block his thoughts out as he drove home. As soon as the current song ended, the host's voice rang out, "Now up next, Ally Dawson's latest single, _Unstoppable,_ that was only released last week! Dawson claims that it stands for her newfound strength after her kidnapping late August and hopes it inspires everyone to break free from their fears too. Without further ado, Ally Dawson!"

 _Just my luck. A song to make me feel even guiltier._

For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to turn it off.

 _All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this town_ **(1)** _  
I'll do it 'til the sun goes down and all through the night time  
Oh yeah, oh yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hear  
Leave my sunglasses on while I shed a tear  
It's never the right time, yeah, yeah_

 _I put my armor on, show you how strong how I am  
I put my armor on, I'll show you that I am_

 _I'm unstoppable  
I'm a Porsche with no brakes  
I'm invincible  
Yeah, I win every single game  
I'm so powerful  
I don't need batteries to play  
I'm so confident, yeah, I'm unstoppable today  
Unstoppable today, unstoppable today  
Unstoppable today, I'm unstoppable today_

He recognized the lyrics. They were the same lyrics from the song she left in his studio. The determination she had in her voice made him take a U-turn to the nearest café.

* * *

"I don't get it. Why did you call me?"

He clasped his hands together on the table and sighed, "Because I couldn't call any of the guys because they'd say 'I told you so.' I couldn't call Trish because she's Ally's closest friend. My sister would cuss me out the whole time. You're the only one left who I trust to talk about this with."

"But you can't expect that I won't tell Ryder about this," Kira said.

He nodded, "Of course. I won't ask you to lie to him."

Kira nodded, "Kay. What's on your mind?"

He let all his thoughts out into words to Kira who listened intently.

"I just don't know how to make this right. I don't know if I should make this right. And seeing her get through every obstacle in her way without me makes me feel…"

"Left out?" Kira suggested.

He slumped and nodded, "I promised her I'd be there for her every step of the way then I tell her she's not improving and call her an attention seeker. On top of everything, I push her and slice her hand and I tell her to get over it. When she saw me bleeding at the wedding, she helped me. How big of an ass can I get?"  
"Evidently, pretty big," she said, "With everything you're going through with your family, she can't expect you not to be irritable. But you took it too far and pointed all your anger at her. She fired back because she was mad at you for not listening to your father first. Ally's my best friend. She tells me everything. Do you know what she told me a few days ago?"

Austin leaned forward and nodded eagerly.

"She told me that even though she's breaking through and getting stronger, she feels empty because you're not there."

Austin would be lying if he said he didn't feel a burst of happiness.

"How do I fix this?" he asked.

Kira smiled, "You won't like it."

"I don't care. I just want her back," he desperately said.

"So, it's obvious your problem with your dad-"

"Don't call him that. He's not my dad," Austin growled.

"It's obvious your problem with your father," she said instead earning her a nod of approval from him, "is a major factor in you and Ally's breakup, so the answer is obvious."

His confused expression made her continue, "Solve it. Talk to Mike. Listen to him. This will let Ally know that you'll try anything to get her back and free you from the burden of upsetting Mimi and Cass every time you see him."

He started to question if he was really that desperate. But no matter how disturbing he found the solution, he was desperate. Really desperate.

He always knew his hatred towards his father would cause a major issue one way or another. He just always ignored it. But after seeing what it caused, he had to solve what had been building up for a long time.

He had to let go of his hatred. Or at least try to.

"I-I'll do it," he swallowed, "I'll go talk to Mike."

Kira's jaw dropped in shock. She never thought he would actually agree.

"You really do love her," she said with admiration for his love.

"I do. I'll go now and catch him off guard so he won't have time to make things up," he said and got up not caring if he didn't finish his cup of coffee.

"Go tomorrow," Kira offered instead as she stood up, "you need some time to think all your emotions through. Don't go in an over-emotional rush like you are now."

He was about to object but knew she was right so he nodded.

"Thanks, Kira," he smiled and hugged her, "This really helped me."

"You're welcome," she said as they parted, "Can I ask you something?"

He nodded for her to continue.

"Why is calling Mike your father okay, but calling him your dad isn't?" she questioned.

"A father is basically the sperm donor who helped conceive you. A dad is a father who loves you and would do anything to protect you and understands you because he's been there for you through everything. Try and guess Mike is which."

"He loves you," she confusedly said.

"As far as I know, he acts like that to make my mom happy," he shook his head.

"Okay, you really need to go talk to him. Stop assuming," she laughed before walking with him to their cars.

"We'll see what tomorrow brings," he shrugged with a smile.

"Call me after you talk to him. I want to know what happens," Kira said before getting into her car driving off.

* * *

 _God, I wish he never announced it._

Ally stared outside her window into the crowd gathering at her lawn. They chanted "Auslly!" carried signs saying "Auslly rocks" and "Please get back together" and other things that all told her to date Austin again.

She sighed and lied down on her new couch waiting for them to leave. She suddenly regretted moving out of her parents' place recently. If this had happened there, her dad would get rid of them for her.

Their chants got louder and louder.

"I miss him enough already, alright?!" she yelled not caring if they couldn't hear her.

"I just can't talk to him after all the shit I said to him," she continued in a sad whisper.

* * *

 **(1) Unstoppable- Sia**

 **Next chapter's gonna be action packed…**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter!**


	11. An Abandoned Park

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

 _He heard a crash upstairs as soon as he got home. Alarmed, he ran up the stairs to the source of the noise. He stood in the doorway to his mom's room and looked onto the scene in front of him. Mimi Moon was sobbing on her carpeted floor surrounded by pieces she tore from her wedding dress._

" _What did I do wrong?!" she wailed not noticing him, "Why did he leave?!"_

 _Austin was frozen in his spot. He couldn't move, but he was panting. It wasn't long before he felt tears of his own streaming down his cheeks. He was pushed aside by 12-year-old Austin in his dirty work clothes. He had just returned from cleaning the bathrooms of a local gas station. Austin watched as his younger self took away any sharp object within his mom's reach and comforted her._

" _Mom, please don't do this to yourself," the preteen begged, "don't let him leaving destroy you."_

" _I can't handle this," Austin whispered in despair as he pulled on his hair, "I can't. I can't. I can't."_

" _Was I not good enough?! I gave him my everything!" she yelled hysterically._

 _Younger Austin and younger Mimi didn't even notice him standing at the door. It's like he was invisible._

 _Suddenly, the boy looked at the doorway and shouted, "Cassidy, go to your room!"_

 _Austin looked next to him to see his baby sister looking scared and confused before she bolted away from the room._

" _He doesn't deserve you," his younger self said. His tone darkened as he continued, "He doesn't deserve any of us."_

" _He doesn't deserve any of us," Austin said at the same time as his young self. Austin felt his fists clenching in anger._

" _He's not your husband anymore. You're better than this. Mom, please, you still have me and Cass."_

 _Mimi calmed down long enough to whisper, "Your dad is gone, honey." Austin's heart broke piece by piece with every sob from his mother._

" _He's not my dad anymore," younger and older Austin spoke in unison._

 _That was the last day he ever called Mike Moon his dad._

 _Austin felt himself at the edge of a mental breakdown as he struggled for breath. "I can't fix this," he cried at the horrible scene he was forced to watch, "I can't fix this for you!"_

 _Then his surroundings changed. His mom's sobs and his 12-year-old self's shouts faded away. Austin found himself in Ally's old art room at his house. His favorite place to think._

 _He felt her hands tangle themselves in his hair as she pulled him to her neck. "It's alright," she soothed him, "Everything's gonna be alright."_

 _He held her waist tightly as she calmed him down. His tears were slowing down. His panting was diminishing._

" _I'm here for you," she whispered._

" _A-Ally," he breathed._

" _You don't have to go through this alone," she gently wiped his tears._

" _Y-You're… You're here," he said confusedly, "You're back."_

" _I came back for you," she comfortingly said._

 _Their surroundings faded into the studio. "Everything I do is for you!" she yelled in frustrated._

" _Why did you keep it from me then?!" he heard himself shout. He looked down to his hands to see that he was holding the hospital report tightly._

" _You have a life ahead of you, Austin! This would ruin you!"_

" _And you keeping things from me wouldn't?! How can I trust you?!" he screamed and crumbled the paper in his fist._

" _I didn't tell you you're infertile because you are young! It's not something you should worry about right now!"_

" _What if I was actually considering settling down, huh? What if I wanted to start a family with you?" he argued._

" _You can still have a family with me," she weakly said._

" _I can't," he sighed, "and I'm not bringing you down with me."_

Austin woke up in a jolt. He sat up in his bed and ran his hand through his now blonde hair. He panted and wiped sweat off his forehead. "I can't do this to her," he whispered to himself, "I have to let her live her life."

* * *

Ally was trying to take a walk, but she was failing miserably. She got mobbed as soon as she left her house. After an hour delay pleasing her fans and reporters, she took off to the one place she was confident no one would find her, an abandoned park she found recently.

She took a deep breath and strolled through the vacant park. Now she could think through what Kira told her.

 _He's going to actually talk to his father for me?_

She had a hard time believing this. If he actually does it, it means he does regret what he did. According to the information she got from Kira, he should be talking to Mike right now. She wondered what was happening with them there. She just hoped that Austin wasn't breaking everything in sight at his parents' house out of anger.

She knew that if he really was with his father at the moment, she'd forget and forgive everything he's told her. She shouldn't give it to him that easily, but something tells her every mistake he makes is because of his past haunting him, and him facing his problems will release him from his past.

All of the sudden, the air was filled with a deep voice singing.

" _Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now_ **(1)** _."_

 _Oh, the funny twist of fate._

She stopped in her tracks and saw Austin sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. She thought that he was here to clear his head after learning his father's reason for leaving, so she approached him, "Singing it out?"

He jumped up from his position in surprise before noticing her and sitting back down.

"Y-Yeah," he gave her a small, nervous smile.

She caught pain in his eyes that matched hers.

He scooted away as far as the bench let him when she sat next to him. "Guess we both find the beauty in the silence of abandoned parks," she said. He gave her a small nod in return. She wanted to ask him how it went with his father, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"I'm really sorry, Ally," he broke the silence, "I never meant any of what I said."

She nodded, "It's okay. I never meant what I said either."

As if he never heard her, he continued, "You're not an attention seeker. You've just been through some shit. I took out my frustration against my father on you and used what I thought were your weaknesses against you. But they're not weaknesses, they're your strengths. And I'm sorry it took me this long to figure it out."

She was about to say something, but he continued, "The night before the wedding… when we were fighting and I raised my fist to hit the pew and you backed away thinking I was gonna hit you… that broke my heart, Alls. I never want you to think that I would ever purposely hurt you. I'm not Scott, and I don't plan to be."

"I'm sorry, too," she said, "I should have told you about your infertility. I thought I was doing the right thing. And I shouldn't be using your father leaving as an excuse to blame you for everything. It's a sensitive topic for you. You have every right to be angry with him. You grew up with one parent and had to deal with a lot of financial and emotional struggles. I really am sorry."

He gave her a sad smile, "Then I guess we're done here."

He got up and started walking away confusing Ally.

"Wait!" she ran after him. "Austin!" she grabbed his arm.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Letting you move on and live your life," he answered plainly.

"What? Why? I thought we just fixed everything," she asked painfully.

"We did, so now we can go our separate ways."

"Y-You actually want us to be over?" tears flooded her eyes.

"No! No, no, no!" he said quickly to stop her from crying, "You have no idea how badly I want you, but with me, you have no future."

"What?"

"Ally, you dream of one day living in a big house with your happy family. I can't give you a family," Austin sighed, "You can't tell me you haven't thought about that."

"I have, b-but we can make it work," she said.

"Ally, I was so keen on talking to Mike today to get you back, but this thing stopped me. I'm not gonna let you waste your life hoping for something that I know won't come true. You have a bright life ahead of you," he cupped her face, "don't give it up for me."

"There is no future for me without you," she held onto his shirt, "I'd rather have you than be with someone else just because he can give me kids. I won't be happy."

"I won't be happy seeing you lose hope little by little every day," he said.

"Austin, there are treatments you can try. Even if they don't work, there's always adoption. I'll still love every second of it because I'm with you," she spoke with love.

He stared into her eyes for a few seconds contemplating before sighing, "Why can't you let me do this one thing for you?"

"Because it'll break us both," she replied, "don't let your insecurities ruin your life."

Before he could say something more, she pulled him into a passionate kiss. He froze in shock at first before melting into it and pulling her closer.

"I won't let you do this," she breathed.

"I know," he said in between kisses.

They both finally felt the emptiness inside them fade.

* * *

 **I rewrote this chapter so many times that it actually has 17 other versions.**

 **(1) Airplanes- B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams**

 **Yay! Auslly's back! And we're in an abandoned park again!**

 **I'm on vacation then I have midterms coming up, so updates until the end of January will be less frequent/badly written like this one.**

 **I gave you Auslly back, can't I get 5 reviews in return?**


	12. Christmas

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

" _All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this town_ _._ _I'll do it 'til the sun goes down and all through the night time."_

Ally laughed and turned her head towards the window on her side to hide her blush.

"Everyone loves you," Austin put a hand on her thigh while keeping the other on the steering wheel.

"Yeah, but they don't have to play it ten times an hour," she shyly said.

He glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road ahead of them, "Too modest."

"I just think that there are better songs. Maybe it's because Dez produced it."

Austin's eyes widened, "Dez produced it?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I needed someone who's good with the electronics that I trust because the song was too personal to sing with a random person in the room."

"It's nice that you find comfort in our group now," he commented.

"They were there for me through all the shit that's happened."

* * *

Ally exited the dressing room and twirled around to show Austin her outfit. She couldn't help her excited smile to hear his opinion.

"No way in hell!"

Her smile dropped. "What? Why?" she asked disappointedly. She looked down at her cream lace jumpsuit.

"Are you seriously planning on wearing this to a charity event?!" he asked frantically.

"Yes?" she said unsure, "What's wrong with it? I thought you'd love it."

"Don't get me wrong, you look beautiful, but I'd rather you not show so much skin for other people," he said from his seat.

She understood his shock for her outfit. It was completely lace with only her underwear to cover up, but the lace detailing was big enough to cover more.

But his desire to stop her from revealing her skin as much as she wanted was not okay.

She rested her hands on her hips, "When did you get this caveman brain?"

"What? Should I just let my girlfriend walk around practically naked in front of the world?" he defended himself.

"I'm not naked! Other people have worn worse than me. And you're not allowed to tell me what to and what not to wear."

Ironically, seeing her frustrated expression made him smile. He got up and went up to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. His smile made her pout even more.

"Can't blame me for wanting you all to myself," he smirked.

"Can't blame me for wanting my boyfriend to give me the freedom I'm allowed as a woman in the 21st century."

"Woah, when did the feminist you come out?" he chuckled.

"When the caveman you came out," she retorted.

"Okay, okay, don't get all pissy. I won't stop you from wearing what you want. You look hot anyway," he winked.

She gave him a pointed look and turned to walk back into the dressing room. He couldn't help but slap her butt as she walked away.

"Austin!"

He bit his bottom lip to not laugh and raised his hands in defense before returning to his seat.

"By the way, my parents' are having a Christmas party tomorrow! Tell your parents to come too!" her voice called out.

"I thought they couldn't stand my mom and Mike," he said.

"They can tolerate each other now. They can't stand you!"

"What?! Why do Penny and Lester hate me?" he asked surprised.

"They think you sliced my hand on purpose. You can't blame them. They opened the door to their crying daughter with blood everywhere."

He furrowed his brows, "Why did they invite me then?"

"My dad wants to lecture you."

He slumped in his chair, "Well, that's just shit on top of pile of crap perfect."

She finally walked out of the small room and smiled, "Don't worry. I'll be there to help you."

He grabbed her hand and they walked to his car. "Do you think he'll like what I got him?" he asked as he got into his car.

"Depends on what you got him," she said.

"A barbeque tool set with a storage case. I noticed his was a little old."

"That could be a little dangerous," she cringed, "His current tool set was given to him by my grandfather. It has great sentimental value for him."

He groaned, "I'm screwed."

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" Penny exclaimed when she opened the door.

"Merry Christmas, Mom!" Ally hugged her mom tightly.

"Austin," she nodded her head politely at him.

"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Dawson," he smiled in hopes to erase the hostile look in her eyes.

She tried to fight it, but a smile made its way to her lips. She turned around and led the young couple inside.

Austin mentally cheered. His charm worked its way to her mom already. But his main concern was her father. He could be very intimidating.

"Put your gifts under the trees. Everyone should be here soon," Ally's mom said.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" Ally's dad's voice called out.

"Merry Christmas, Dad!" Ally smiled and hugged her father.

"Hey, sweetie!" he laughed.

His cheerful eyes turned solemn upon seeing his daughter's boyfriend.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Dawson," Austin stretched his hand out for a handshake. Lester glanced at it and turned around and walked into the kitchen. Austin cleared his throat awkwardly and returned his hand to his side. Ally gave him an apologetic look.

Soon, the bell rang and Ryder's voice shouted, "I'm here! Your Christmas just got a whole lot better!"

"Wouldn't bet on it!" Austin yelled back.

Kira came in shaking her head with laughter, "Sorry. He had too much sugar for breakfast."

It wasn't long before the entire group arrived and dinner was served.

"So, what are your plans for New Year's Eve?" Penny asked.

The guys grumbled, "Concert," while the rest said they had no plans.

"There's this ski lodge I found in North Carolina that's having discounts for bookings over the new year. We should all go, you know, for a few days," Austin's father said.

Ally's eyes sparkled with eagerness. She's always wanted to go to a ski lodge.

"If you heard us the first time, Mike, you'd know that the guys and I have a concert," Austin rudely remarked. Ally inconspicuously kicked his leg under the table to warn him.

"Also," he continued, "last time I was around ice with you, you sprained my ankle."

This time, Ally kicked his leg harder.

"Ow!" Austin exclaimed, "Stop kicking me."

"Stop trying to make a problem out of nothing," she carefully said in hopes he'd stop. And he did stop. But he stopped only for her.

"Actually," Elliot broke the awkward silence, "You guys could go ahead of us and we'll catch up after the concert."

"If everyone's in, I'm in," Trish said.

Nods circled the table excluding Austin who was too busy glaring at his bandmate.

* * *

"A cupcake for you," Austin appeared behind her with a frosted cupcake. "Thanks," she gave him a small smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"You're not mad at me, are you?" he questioned.

"I'm not mad, Austin. I just hope you didn't do that," she sighed, "It's Christmas. Everyone's in a good mood. Don't ruin it."

He simply nodded and kissed her forehead, "I won't." He wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

"Did my dad talk to you already?" she asked.

"Yeah. Most terrifying moments of my life, but at least he likes me a little more now."

She giggled, "Good thing he liked your gift."

"I know, right? Thank God it turned out he wanted a new one anyway," he sighed with relief.

"I'm gonna head back to the group. You coming?" she asked.

"I need to use the bathroom first," he said and pecked her lips before parting ways.

He was met with Ryder on his way out of the bathroom. "Sup," he nodded his head before noticing the serious look on his best friend's face, "What's wrong?"  
"Don't you think it's time?" Ryder asked.

"Time for what?" Austin furrowed his brows in confusion.

"To listen to your father."

His mood immediately darkened. He felt anger bubbling underneath.

"No."

"Austin, you're my best friend. Heck, you're my brother! I wouldn't tell you to do something I knew would hurt you," Ryder said, "but it's Christmas, and everyone's Christmas wish was that you and Mike make peace. Can't you end this year with getting this weight off your chest?"

"I don't get why everyone thinks it's their business to tell me to listen to him. Look, it's my choice. I don't want to talk to him, so I won't," he argued.

"Kira told me you were going to," Ryder fought back, "Why didn't you?"

"I was only gonna do it because I thought it would bring Ally back, but she came back without me having to talk to him. What's the point of doing it now if she's with me?"

"It would make your mom happy. It would relief Cassidy. It would make problems less for you and Ally. We won't have to get all tense whenever you and Mike are in the same room. There's a whole list. Want me to go on?" Ryder raised his eyebrows.

Suddenly, Austin understood his point of view. He did want to stop making all these problems. Most of the problems in the group seemed to be because of his hatred towards his father.

He closed his eyes and said, "I'll do it before I change my mind."

Ryder clapped Austin's shoulder and nodded, "Time to shock everyone."

Austin walked into the living room with Ryder in tow and pointed at his father, "Mike, in the kitchen, now. Let's get this over with."

Everyone exchange confused looks. "Austin, what are you doing?" Ally asked from her seat.

"Something you all have always wanted me to do."  
Mike looked at his wife in question.

"You have 10 seconds to be in the kitchen before I change my mind and never do this again," Austin warned. And in a flash, his father was seated at the kitchen table.

He looked back at his mom who looked worried and at his girlfriend who gave him a supportive nod. He walked into the kitchen and shut the door behind him.

"I want the full truth, Mike."

* * *

 **Told you my updates will be later than usual these days.**

 **I feel almost sad that we now get to know why his father left. I mean his explanation is something I've been imagining since the beginning of the first story. But I can't wait to see your reactions!**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter.**


	13. Truth

**I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"How did you get him to do it?" Trish asked Ryder as they waited for Austin and his father to be done.

"I told him I knew that he's been thinking about it for a while and should to it to end the year on a happy note, and when that didn't work, I used his three weaknesses, his mom, his sister, and his girlfriend. That guy's a softy when it comes to these three women," Ryder shrugged and put his arm around Kira.

Ally looked down to hide her blush, "When are they coming out? It's been half an hour. Does it take that long?"

"The explanation part doesn't; the start of it all does," Cassidy explained.

"Mike hasn't started yet," Mimi sighed worriedly.

Elliot confusedly asked, "How do you know?"

"We would be hearing Austin shout if he did," Ally said and glanced anxiously at the clock again.

* * *

"You just wasted 30 minutes stuttering and pausing," Austin pointed at the clock, "stop trying to make me regret this."

His father nervously nodded, "I-I know. This just caught me off guard."

"So, you're making stuff up? Just so you know, if I don't find your explanation believable, I'll be asking Mom and Cass. Get to it already," Austin harshly said.

"O-okay," Mike wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, "so, remember that I was chief of police, right?"

Austin nodded and narrowed his eyes to intimidate his father even more. It's not like he needed to scare him to this extent, but he enjoyed the frightened look on his face.

"Part of my duties was controlling who gets arrested and who gets released. Remember how I used to stay in my office all night and work on cases because I got too into my job sometimes?"

Austin rolled his eyes, "This isn't a memory test. Just tell your story already."

"One day, I was at the station and we got a call. A neighbor saw the 16-year-old boy living next door murdering his parents and sister when he looked through the backdoor window."

Austin's eyes widened. He thought of how horrible the scene must have looked.

"Me and a few other officers immediately headed there. When we got there, the neighbor that called was dead, stabbed as I remember," Mike blinked rapidly to erase the awful image from his mind, "the boy was still there. We found him hiding in the basement in a hole in the floor covered with a rug. We found drugs and stolen money there too."

Austin never knew anything about the cases his father got. He never told them about any because he said they're too horrific. He leaned forward and pretended to not believe a word. It stopped the air from getting comfortable for Mike and prevented him from getting too confident with his words.

"Anyway, we took him down to the station and kept him in a cell as we evaluated his case. He kept shouting that he swears he'll kill my family if he goes into custody and that he has people to come after me. We didn't really pay much attention to that. Many people say that to us," his father sighed as he remembered.

Austin found himself feeling a little sympathetic towards his father, the man who dealt with psychopaths for a living. He didn't want to forgive his father from the beginning of his explanation though, so he let him continue. He needed to know more.

"But soon, signs everywhere started appearing, like your mother's tires getting slashed and my office at the station getting sabotaged. One night, your mother sent me to get some groceries and while I was there, I noticed someone watching me. I don't know how I knew he was that boy's friend, but his eyes…" his father's eyes had the look of someone who swore they weren't crazy.

Austin nodded, "I understand that." He remembers knowing Scott was a bad guy just by looking in his eyes.

Mike sighed in relief, "I dropped everything and went home. I told your mother I had a flat tire, so I couldn't get anything. I thought all night of ways to stop him without you guys noticing. I couldn't arrest him because I knew there were more after me and my family. I decided to do what I had to do to save my family, leave and go somewhere far away. The hardest decision of my life. The next day, I took you all out for dinner and left while you all were sleeping. I left-"

Austin realized where this was going and raised his hand to stop him. "J-Just stop, Mike. I-I need a minute." He felt memories of that night rushing back to him, digging a hole in his heart.

His father noticed that and nodded before exiting the room.

Austin propped his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands.

 _Austin helped his father close the garage and went inside to their home after returning from a family dinner, the first family dinner in weeks._

" _Dad!" Austin playfully complained when his dad mentioned his middle school crush. "Come on, Austin, I bet she likes you too," Mike winked at his 12-year-old son._

" _Mike, stop embarrassing the boy," Mimi laughed as she set up a movie for her family. "Not my fault I want my son to become a man," he plopped down on the couch with the rest of his family._

" _It's getting late. Shouldn't we all just go to bed?" Mimi asked._

" _And miss the family moments we might never get again? Right, guys?" Mike looked at his kids who were nodding with him._

" _We win!" Cassidy cheered when her mother gave in._

 _That night, Mike and Mimi kissed their children goodnight and went to bed themselves. Mike pretended to not be able to sleep and went down to his office. He fished out the duffle bag he hid earlier and waited until he was sure everyone was asleep._

 _He officially left his family at 2am that night._

 _Three days later, Austin was sitting at the kitchen table with his sister while they watched their mom call everyone she knows looking for her husband. The police didn't find anything, and no one knew where he was._

 _Austin looked down at his clenched fists and angrily thought, "He lied."_

Austin heard footsteps come into the kitchen. He knew it was Ally from the sound her shoes made. Still, he didn't remove his hands from his face. He couldn't let her see the few tears that escaped his eyes.

He felt her arms wrapping around his shoulders from behind. "I'm proud of you," she said, "we all are."

She only got a small sniff in response, but she wasn't here to hear him talk.

"You're halfway through. Don't stop now. Don't let the questions you have stay unanswered. Go through with this," she advised.

But he felt like he couldn't continue if he didn't break something to release his anger. He couldn't do that though because the Dawson's would kill him, and his relationship with her parents was already hanging by a thread.

She lowered her head right next to his ear, "But no matter what, don't act on your first impulse, anger. Don't start yelling and saying things you'll regret. Count to ten and act rationally. And don't push us away later. Let us be here for you."

He lowered his hands so only his eyes showed. Ally knew he was crying by the redness in his eyes. "I love you," she kissed his cheek and left the room just as a red-faced Mike came back in.

He sat back down with a shaky breath, "I'm sorry, Austin."

Austin cleared his throat, "Just continue."

"As I told you, I took you all out for a last family dinner and left in the middle of the night. I left for France and went under the name Louis Bernard. Still, they found me. I couldn't contact any of you in any way because they'd track you. I tried to stay undetectable for about two years, but they never left. Then, the boy himself escaped prison."

Austin remembered exactly where he was at that time period, washing cars that belonged to rich, snobby couples and cleaning dirty public bathrooms.

"I-It got even worse. I couldn't even sleep. One day, I ran into someone who had gone through a similar situation and partnered up with him. It took many years, but finally, four years ago, we found their base and ambushed them. I was free again. I immediately worked on getting back to you guys. Your mom was the first one I contacted because without her, I wouldn't have gotten to you or Cass. It took some time for her to let me in, and when she did, she brought me to Cass."

"Cassidy shut you out too," Austin whispered.

"She did, but she was easier to crack than you. She listened to me and forgave me. I can only hope you do the same. Getting to you was hard because you lived in LA. We could never get you to talk to me, and you went to New York when you found out that I flew to LA to talk to you. And the media surrounding you didn't make it easy. All I saw on TV was my own son getting drunk and into bar fights."

Austin closed his eyes in shame and counted to ten like Ally told him to, "All the shit I did was because of you, Mike. Don't try to guilt me like that." His father nodded and continued.

"You can't imagine my happiness when I was told you were moving back to Miami, but talking to you only got harder. Mimi and Cassidy kept encouraging me, but you were so adamant and stubborn. I met this wonderful girlfriend of yours and asked her for help. Ally acted as a binding agent for you and me."

She did, and he paid her back by being an ass to her.

"When I thought that we were a bit closer than before, I proposed to your mom. We were not expecting a congrats from you, but we didn't think you'd be furious too. Flash forward to a few months after that when you found out that me and Mimi were in a fight and that I… regretted the marriage. You never found out why."

Austin felt exhausted. All he wanted was to go to eternal sleep. He wanted this to be over. He found himself not wanting to harshly reply to Mike.

Taking the silence as an encouragement to continue, Mike said, "I didn't regret the marriage itself. I love your mom with all my heart. I regretted that I married your mom when I still hadn't fixed everything with my son. I wanted us to be a family again before marrying her. But I wouldn't change a thing, and she knows that now."

Austin looked away for a few minutes to gather his thoughts. He needed to know what this made of them. He needed to know his anger wouldn't get the best of him.

"A-Austin, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking care of your mom and sister when I was gone. I know I put you through years of shit and humiliation, and I am really sorry for that. Your mom told me how you took any job you could get just to get a little money to help her take care of her family. I wish I could've sent money myself, but that would have revealed your location. I know I shouldn't expect you to be the perfect son. You never had a father figure to teach you to be a man, but you are close to that."

"Mike," Austin's voice cracked, "You left to protect your family, and I can't blame you for that. But you left us for many shitty years without a word from you, and I can't forgive that. I can't forgive you for the missing parts of my teenage years. I can't forgive you for the hole in our lives. Cassidy may have, but I can't and won't."

Mike nodded in disappointment.

"But what I can do is forget. I'm not saying I'll forget what happened. I'm saying I'll forget my assumptions about you. I'm not promising a perfect family now, but I hope we'll be able to enjoy family dinners again without fights," Austin held back his tears.

He stood up from his seat prompting Mike to do the same. "It's gonna take a while for you to be my dad again, but don't give up on me," Austin said.

His father fumbled with something around his collar before taking something out. He held a chain necklace with a vintage coin hanging from it. "This," Mike licked his lips, "this is a necklace that has passed through my family for eight generations. We give it to our sons when they turn 18. It means family never gets too old to love. I'm a few years late, but I'm giving it to my son now. I can only hope he accepts it as he accepts that he is part of this family."

Austin took his time to observe the necklace. It really did look ancient, worn a thousand times. But it also looked wise, something Austin always wanted to be, so he stretched out his hand and let his father put it there.

"You never take this off. It's like an oath to be always be smart, loving, and wise. I hope it teaches you many things like it did to me," Mike said.

Austin nodded and put the necklace on. He put it on with pride and happiness. He didn't know why, but he had a guess. It's because he just acted smart, loving, and wise by talking to his father no matter how emotionally distressing it was.

He felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

* * *

 **There you have it, the truth! I had this chapter ready a** **week ago, but I couldn't upload it because I kept making changes. I also completely rewrote this a few times because a few of the stories I thought were unrealistic.**

 **I tried to make the story as complete as possible, but I think there are a few holes in it. Review what you thought!**


	14. The Ski Lodge

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"So, you made it to the ski lodge safely?" Austin asked through the phone.

Ally rolled her eyes with a smile, "Of course. What do you think happened on the plane? I was there with our parents and the girls, not a gang."

"I meant at the airport. Everyone found out where you were heading and gathered at the airport waiting for your arrival. They didn't tear you apart, did they?"

Ally sat down on the bed, "Yeah, we got mobbed. Our moms and the girls went ahead, and Mike and my dad shielded me from the fans. I feel bad for ignoring them."

"Why? They were invading your privacy," Austin said.

"Yeah, but all they wanted was an autograph. I was too tired and dazed to do anything though."

"Then, your fans understand that. You were on a night flight and exhausted. Don't think about it too much," he comforted her.

"I'll try," she sighed.

"What are you guys gonna do now?"

Ally checked the clock on the night stand and replied, "Well, we all pretty much slept the day away. We agreed on meeting at the restaurant for dinner in 15 minutes."

"Okay, I'll let you get ready then," he said.

"No, no. I'm already ready. You don't have to hang up now," she fell back onto her bed.

"Nah, it's alright. I have to head back to rehearsals anyway."

Ally disappointedly nodded, "Oh, okay. I love you."

"I love you too. Have fun."

"Good luck at rehearsals," she sighed before hanging up.

* * *

"Wait? Really?" Ally asked in astonishment.

"Yeah, Tolkien wrote _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of the Rings_ for the language he created. Not the other way around," Mike explained.

"I always thought he wrote it because of a ring he valued. But if what you're saying is true, why did he choose a ring to symbolize power?" she questioned.

"Tolkien hated allegories. He didn't want his writing to have many interpretations. But many people argue that the ring isn't just what it is. They say that the ring is a circle. No beginning and no end. Just a repeating sequence, just like life. History tends to repeat itself, mostly in the form of mistakes. It symbolized that the power of evil will make people make the same mistakes over and over as long as they're under its rule, until something or someone strong can break that cycle, destroy the ring and give its power an end. Just think about it. If he had used a handkerchief instead of a ring, would it have the same effect?" Mike spoke with passion.

Ally shook her head in interest and said, "The ring is also a small item that holds so much power, symbolizing that the tiniest things can have the biggest influences on us."

"Okay," Cassidy said putting her glass down, "I think that's enough literature class for today."

"How do you know all of that?" Lester asked Mike.

"I always enjoyed novels and analyzing them. Tolkien's writings gave me a safe escape and allowed me to imagine everything in my own way. Ally is the first person in years to be so interested and curious in what I knew. Do you like literature too, Ally?" Mike said as he finished his drink.

"I used to read a lot in high school, but then music took over. I still love reading classic novels. I have a lot of books in a box at home. I plan on opening it and reading all of them one day," Ally replied.

"Speaking of skills, does anyone not know how to ski?" Kira asked.

Ally shyly raised her hand. "What? Why would you come to a ski lodge then?" Cassidy laughed.

"I've always wanted to learn, but I've either lived in Miami or LA and whenever I go to a snowy place, I have work. So, I'm gonna take advantage of all of you ski masters and learn this trip," Ally smirked.

"I'm not gonna try to teach you," Penny shook her head, "You're a nightmare when I try to teach you."

"Thanks, Mom," Ally laughed.

"Oh, Mike can teach you. He's a pro," Mimi smiled at her husband.

"Really?" Ally raised her eyebrows.

"Sure, but know that I don't like slacking students," Mike taunted.

"I'm far from a slacking student, but I accept the challenge," she leaned forward in confidence.

"This is gonna end with someone getting hurt," Trish concluded.

* * *

"This thing is easy if you learn the basics," Mike said as he made sure her boots were secured tightly enough, "Just try not to fall."

Ally nodded, "I can do that."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," he said and stood up.

"Okay, so bend your knees a little."

Ally did as he said. "I said bend your knees, not crouch," Mike commented.

"Oops," Ally blushed and improved her position.

"Lean forwards," he said and watched Ally lean forwards, "Don't lean that much. You'll fall on your face when you go down."

Ally sighed as she knew more instructions were to come.

 _Several hours later…_

"Bend your knees!"

"Stop curling into a ball!"

"Don't lean back!"

"Face forwards!"

"Keep that up and you'll be tumbling down the snow!"

"Ally!"

Ally groaned, "Why is this harder than it looks?"

"Looks deceive," Mike smiled, "Now get up and try again."

"No, no," Ally shook her head, "I'm done for the day. I'm sore, I'm cold, and all I want right now is a hot shower and to watch the livestream of the guys' concert."

Mike smirked, "I'll let you go if you try one more time."

Ally looked at him begging, "Please don't make me do this again."

"I thought you said you weren't a slacking student."

She grimaced and went into position. Ignoring her sore body, she pushed herself down the slope. Suddenly, she lost balance and rolled the rest of the way down.

She opened her eyes and spit the ice out of her mouth. Mike came skiing down dying of laughter, "That was amazing."

"You knew I'd fail," she narrowed her eyes.

"I just needed to laugh at you one more time. You remind me of when I was teaching Cass," he helped her up.

"She's horrible at balance too?"

"Not worse than you, but yeah," he said, "Now go see your boyfriend rock his show."

She gave him a grateful smile and starting heading back.

"By the way," he said from behind her, "I really hope I'll get to call you daughter-in-law someday."

"Don't worry," Ally smiled, "I plan on that with Austin." She wanted to call Mike 'Dad' one day too. She loved Austin's family and wanted to become a part of it.

* * *

Ally let the hot water soothe her muscles as she thought about the day's events. She found Mike incredibly fun and educated. She enjoyed him talking to her about literature and teaching her how to ski.

She wondered if Austin would have this relationship with his father if he let him in sooner. All she could do is wait until he gets here tomorrow and see how he acts around his father. She would love it if Austin and her and Cassidy and Elliot could have a civil, peaceful dinner with Mimi and Mike.

She also saw a lot of Austin in Mike, whether Austin liked it or not. Austin had the same spark in his eyes that Mike had when they talked about something they're passionate about.

She wished if Austin could have a relationship with his father. She could imagine them sitting together in the living room having a conversation about anything and everything, being father and son.

She planned on making that happen.

She got out of the shower and prepared herself for a night in bed. She turned her laptop on and tuned in to the livestream that just started. The guys still haven't come out and Ally knew they were backstage doing last minute voice warmups.

She texted him quickly before they came out.

 _Good luck! I'll be watching_

She noticed he immediately replied back.

 _Good, I'll have someone to impress then3_

She heard cheering come from her laptop and noticed the guys walking out on stage. She smiled and watched them do their thing.

* * *

 _5am…_

Ally woke up to a knock coming from the door. She sleepily got up and put on a robe before opening it.

"Hey, sleepyhead!" Austin's voice shook her out of her sleep.

"Austin?" she asked, "I thought you weren't supposed to get here until noon!"

He smiled, "We switched our flight to something sooner so we wouldn't lose another day here. Now, where's my hug?"

Ally grinned and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Hmmm, this is what I like," he mumbled as he held her even tighter and swayed them gently side to side.

Ally lifted her head and kissed him sweetly. He pulled her even closer.

"I love you," he whispered as they parted. Ally stepped back to let him pull his suitcase in and close the door behind him, "I love you too."

Ally noticed the bags under his eyes and asked, "When was the last time you slept?"

He took his jacket off and hung it on a chair, "I haven't slept the last two days and I couldn't sleep on the plane."

"Why?"

He shrugged as he laid his suitcase down and opened it, "I don't know. Nightmares."

"Nightmares?" Ally asked as he pulled a pair of sweatpants out.

"Ever since you left to come here, I've had this recurring dream," Austin shuddered as he remembered it.

She watched him change out of his jeans and shirt as she inquired, "What happens in it?"

"It's always the same; it's always someone in the group dying," he frowned.

"Who's it been so far?"

He sat down on the bed and counted on his fingers, "I've had three of them so far. The first was losing Dez."

Ally noticed the fear in his voice.

"Then it was Kira," he swallowed, "and then… Mike."

Ally kneeled on the floor in front of him and cupped his face, "Are you okay?"

He furrowed his brows and refused to look into her eyes, "I don't know. It was terrifying the first time when it was Dez, then I saw Ryder lose his mind when he was told that Kira was gone. I'm still shaking from it. But when I saw Mike…"

"How did you feel?" she tried to catch his eyes, but he avoided her.

"I woke up right when he died, s-so I'm not sure. I don't know if it was relief that I felt, or if it was grief. My mind tells me that it's relief, that I'm relieved that I finally got what I wished for for years, but my heart tells me it's not that. But it's not grief either. What does that mean?" he finally looked her in the eyes.

Ally opened her mouth then closed it. She wasn't sure what to say. "It means-"

"I'm probably overthinking it. It's just a bad dream. All of them are," he shook his head.

"But you can think about it. Austin, you dreamt about losing your father. That's got to do something to you," she said.

"I just want to sleep," he tiredly ran a hand through his hair.

Ally noticed the exhaustion in his voice and said, "Let's just sleep then."

Austin climbed into bed and wrapped his arm around Ally. He felt something solid under him and said, "Wait." He reached down and pulled out a laptop. He raised his eyebrows at Ally who bit her lip to stop a smile from forming, "I might have fell asleep halfway through your concert."

"Good to know our music works as a lullaby too," he joked. She giggled as he set her laptop on the floor next to the bed, "Very versatile."

* * *

"Austin!" she whined as she poked him again, "come on, we're gonna be late."

"No," he mumbled in his sleep.

"You don't want to have breakfast?" she asked.

"No."

"So, you're gonna make me go downstairs all by myself?" she tried to persuade him.

"Yes."

"You want me to be the loner among five couples?" she questioned.

"Yes."

Ally rolled her eyes. He values his sleep. "Fine. I'll come wake you up after breakfast."

He snored in response.

"Where's your other half?" Cassidy asked.

"Sleeping," Ally replied.

"Good luck trying to wake him up," Mimi laughed, "my son loves sleep more than life itself."

"Tell me about it," she giggled.

"If he doesn't wake up, we can just throw him into the snow," Lester suggested.

"I'll go do that now," Ryder said as he got up before being pulled back down by Kira. "Sit down," Kira giggled, "he'll cuss all of us out."

* * *

Ally slid her keycard to unlock the door before opening it. "Austin," she gently said before she heard panting.

She quickly went in to see him sitting on the bed sweating and panting with his hand in his hair. "Nightmare?" she asked and sat down next to him.

He nodded and closed his eyes.

"Who is it this time?"

Austin pulled at his hair and swallowed, "You."

Ally noticed tears in his eyes when he opened them. She shifted closer to his and took his hand, "But I'm here."

He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her waist. Ally hugged him back and rubbed his back soothingly. "I'll never leave you," she whispered.

A few minutes later, he pulled away and stood up, "I shouldn't be like this. I'm ruining the trip."

"No, you aren't," she argued, "you can't control this. You shouldn't blame yourself."

"I don't want to spend this day crying over a dream. I want us to have fun," he said.

Ally knew that he was hiding the pain, but she went along thinking this would cheer him up, "Get changed then. We're meeting the group downstairs in 30 minutes."

He nodded and turned to go to the bathroom. A flash from his nightmare flashed before his eyes making him turn back around.

"Just promise me one thing," he said.

"What?"

"Never go near Scott even again," he pleaded.

Ally gave him a weirded-out look, "Austin, he's in prison."

"I know," he sighed, "just promise me."

"I promise," she gave him a comforting smile.

* * *

"You've been teaching her?" Austin asked.

"Yeah, we started yesterday," Mike replied.

"How many times did you make her fall?" he chuckled.

"More than the times I made you fall."

"Why do you teach us how to ski by making us fall though?" Austin questioned as he watched his girlfriend slide accidentally down the snow before being helped by a laughing Trish.

"I believe in learning by mistakes. If you start learning how to not fall, you'll get the hang of it."

Austin found the sense in that way of thinking, "I'll help you teach her."

"Ally!" his father called out. Ally made her way to them, "I think I'm all warmed up now, and sore. God, I thought snow was supposed to be soft."

Austin chuckled, "Let's get started."

"You're teaching me too?" Ally raised her eyebrows.

He nodded, "Yeah, if you'd like."

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Perfect, actually," she smiled.

"Okay, Ally, get into the position I taught you yesterday," Mike instructed. Ally did as he said.

"No, no," Austin put his hands on her waist and made her lean forward a little more, "this way, you get more speed as you go down."

"Thanks," she said. Austin noticed the blush on her cheeks and smirked, "Am I making you nervous?"

She bit her lip and looked down nodding. "Well, what if I were to do this?" he trailed his hands down smirking even more at her embarrassed expression.

Someone cleared his throat behind them. They turned to see Dez smiling, "I know the two days without seeing each other killed you, but keep your hands to yourself in public. There are families around here, and paparazzi."

Ally noticed cameras flashing at them from every direction and sternly said, "Behave, Moon."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now remember, your poles are there to push you, so lift them off the snow when you go down," Mike advised.

Ally nodded and took her millionth shot at skiing. Everything went well until she started tumbling the rest of the way down.

"Your girlfriend is definitely something," Mike laughed as they watched her spit snow out of her mouth and try to get up.

Austin chuckled, "Love her for that."

"I told her this yesterday. I hope to call her my daughter-in-law one day," Mike said.

"And I hope to make her my wife someday," Austin agreed.

"I'm proud of you, son," Mike clapped his son on his back.

The force of his clap turned out to be too strong and pushed Austin down the snowy hill.

"Whoa! Wait! Wait! Ahhhh!" Austin screamed as he lost balance and started tumbling down.

He groaned as he pushed the snow out of his mouth with his tongue when he reached the bottom. He felt a familiar amount of pain in his knee and couldn't help the furious shout that escaped his mouth,"MIKE!"

* * *

 **Austin just can't be around his father and snow at the same time.**

 **Someone asked me if the story is ending soon. My answer is: this story is far from over. I have more to do with these characters. And don't worry, it'll get more interesting as you read the next few chapters.**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter!**


	15. New Year

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"You're supposed to be icing it," Penny said as she put pillows under his leg to elevate it.

"I'm also supposed to be having fun outside, but we don't all get what we want," he retorted. She rolled her eyes, "You're still bitter about that?"

"If it wasn't for Mike, I wouldn't have to sit on a couch all day with a knee brace while everyone else is having the time of their lives," he complained.

"He didn't mean to push you. Don't blame him," Penny said and put an ice pack on his injured knee.

"This is the second time that I'm around snow and Mike at the same time and I get hurt. It can't be a coincidence. I'm lucky if I don't end up with an allergic reaction and green hair by the time this trip ends," he gruffly said.

"You obviously need some time to cool down," she laughed, "and you won't spend all day alone. One of us will visit you every once in a while."

"If that one of you is Mike, please tell him my room is on the 21st floor," Austin said.

"There is no 21st floor."

"Exactly."

Penny smiled and started heading out, "Well, I have to get back. Don't forget to put ice on your knee, or I'll make sure you have green hair by the time we go home."

He sighed and turned his attention back to the lyrics he was writing. "God, I wish I brought my guitar with me," he muttered.

* * *

"So, you're still alive," he smiled when she walked in. She took off her jacket and shoes and sat on his lap, making sure to stay far from his knee.

"So, are you," she giggled and nuzzled into his chest as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Barely," he joked, "How many times did you fall today?"

"A lot. I even got this bruise," she proudly moved the collar of her shirt to show him the huge bruise on her shoulder. He looked at it and winced, "Be careful, Alls, you're hurting yourself."

"But I'm having fun," she gushed.

"Yeah, but you don't want to end up like me, do you?"

She sighed, "I won't. I know when to stop. And I wish you were okay to be with us and not stuck in this room."

"You and me both," he agreed.

She closed her eyes as he started rubbing her back and said, "I was excited for this trip because I thought we'd finally have a real vacation together. No work, no commitments, no deadlines. And now I'm out there learning to ski while you're here."

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's not your fault. At least you're not stressing your knee," she replied.

"I'll make it up to you."

"You don't have to make up for anything, Austin," she said. She didn't mean to make him feel bad. She can't blame him for not being able to walk. She just wanted him to know that all the fun she's having couldn't compare to the fun she has with him.

"I want to take you on a date when we get back," he announced, "I don't even remember the last time we had a full-on cheesy fancy date where I pick you up at 7 and give you a goodnight kiss on your porch at the end of the night."

She gave him a weirded-out look, "You want to be cheesy?" The Austin she knew hated cheesy.

"I believe that every couple has to have at least one cheesy date. Come on, it'll be just us. No paparazzi, no fans, no family, no friends. Just us two. So, what do you say?" he gave her a convincing smile.

She smiled and nodded, "Yes. It'll be a good farewell dinner."

"Which reminds me, when does your tour start again?" he asked.

"Beginning of February," she replied.

"Okay, so I'll be leaving for mine two weeks after you," he said.

"Good, then we might cross paths somewhere," she said before leaning up to capture his lips in a kiss.

"Aren't you going back?" he said when she pulled away.

She shook her head, "Nah, I told them I want to spend the afternoon with you before we have to gather again for the New Year's party."

"Are we going to the hotel's party?" he asked. "No, we decided that that party would have many people, cameras, reporters, so we'll have our own gathering at my parents' suite," she informed.

"I'm gonna have to see Mike, right?" he grimaced. "You'll have to face him sooner or later," she giggled.

* * *

"You're not mad, are you?" his father asked. Austin gave him a fake smile, "Not at all." All he wanted was his father to stop apologizing. He was getting annoyed.

He let out a sigh of relief when his father walked away. Ally came and sat next to him, "Ten minutes to midnight."

"Our first New Year's Eve together," he said, "A year ago, we loathed each other."

"It's amazing what time does," she agreed, "and this year, I want us to be stronger than ever."

"No more jumping to conclusions," he continued. "No more secrets," she said.

"And no more letting our problems come between us," he said.

A few minutes later of silence later, he sighed, "I'm gonna miss you when you go, you know."

She buried her head in his chest and said, "Don't talk about it. It's a month away. We still have time."

"Time flies."

"But memories stay," she answered. She didn't want them thinking about being separated for their tours already.

The countdown to midnight was chanted by everyone in the room, and when it was over, each couple had their special midnight kiss.

* * *

Ally noticed the crowd forming around them as they walked deeper into the airport trying to get to their gate. Austin started having trouble moving his crutches when people started closing in on them. They felt the air thickening all around. Next thing they know, they were all separated in the crowd. "Austin!" Ally yelled over noise as people shoved their phones in her face, "Mom! Dad!"

"Ally Dawson!" the crowd yelled trying to get her attention. Ally turned around to see more unfamiliar faces and flashes. She felt her breathing get faster as she got dizzier.

"Ally!" a familiar voice yelled. She turned around and bumped into Cassidy. "Where are the others?!" Ally shouted.

"I don't know! I lost them in the mess!" she replied.

She was being yanked in all directions. The confusion got more and more as more people pushed in. She started hearing gasps and shouts of surprise other than people shouting their names. "What happened?!" she asked Cassidy. Cassidy grabbed her hand and started leading her out.

They started hearing people saying Austin's name and knew that they were close to him. "Austin!" Ally shouted.

"Ally!" she heard him shout back. She let go of Cassidy and made her way in the direction she heard his voice come from. She caught a glimpse of his hair and quickened her pace. One she broke her way to the front she saw him trying to get up and one of his crutches was broken because of the mess.

She rushed to him and helped him up and gave him his unbroken crutch. They were pushed against each other when the crowd closed in on them calling their names. Austin put a protective arm around her shoulders and tried move, but the crowd was too thick.

"Move!" security started breaking the crowd up. One of the security officers grabbed them and led them out. They were taken to the group and escorted to their gate to avoid another mob forming.

"Are you alright, sir?" one of them asked Austin, "Should we get you anything?"

Austin shook his head and sat down on a chair, "No, thank you."

"Well, that was crazy," Mimi commented, "If I knew traveling with you people would do that, I would've gone on another plane."

"It's not usually this bad. I think it's because they saw us all together," Dez said.

Ally was still dizzy from it all and took a seat on the chair closest to her. She put her head in her hands and worked on regulating her breathing.

"Alls, you okay?" Austin asked her. She looked up to see him, but all she saw were blurry figures. She felt bile rising up her throat and ran to the trash can and emptied her stomach.

She felt someone rubbing her back and holding her hair back for her as she coughed up her stomach's contents. When she was done, she slid down to the floor to catch her breath. She looked to see who was rubbing her back to see Austin sitting in front of her without his crutch.

"Ally?" he worriedly asked. "Did you walk on your injured knee?" she asked instead of replying.

He glanced at his knee, "No, I hopped on one leg. Are you okay? You're pale."

"I'm fine. I was just a little dizzy. I feel better now," she said. He gave her a doubtful look and she smiled, "Seriously, it's nothing."

* * *

 **It's been a long time since I last updated. Oops. In my defense, I had exams, which ended two days ago, and a lot of Teen Wolf to watch. But there's no Teen Wolf until June, so you'll be getting updates way more often.**

 **Next chapter will be interesting. I can't wait to see your reactions. It'll be up in less than a week since I'm mostly done with it.**

 **5 reviews, please?**


	16. Date Night

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

He told her he's taking her on a cliché, fancy date, so she decided to dress fancy too. She made sure to wear the traditional red dress, simple makeup, heels, and loose waves. She wondered just exactly how cheesy he's gonna make the date. Ironically, she felt excited to experience what almost every couple experiences at least once. It felt nice to be able to do something a normal couple does.

Except that when she opened the door to him, he was dressed in jeans and a hoodie with a bouquet of flowers and a stupid smile on his face. "So, turns out, bringing you flowers is really as cheesy as I can get. Get changed into a hoodie. We're doing something else."

* * *

"Would you just tell me why I had to ditch my dress for a hoodie?" she crossed her arms annoyedly. He smiled and ran a hand through his hair, "When I told the guys about what I had planned, they completely bashed the idea. They said that we were too unique to do such a normal thing. Dez told me he'd plan something for us. We're going on a search."

She raised her eyebrows, "A search? For what?"

"Dez put clues for us all over town. Each clue gives us a hint of what the next location is and we have to head there to find where we're having our romantic dinner. I think there are about 3 clues before the last one, and I happen," he held a card in his hand, "to have the first one."

Excitement grew in her again as she eagerly snatched the card from his hand and read it out loud, "'The hands of a king are the hands of a healer.' What does that mean?"

He shrugged, "It's a quote, isn't it? Where is it from?"

"It's from _The Lord of the Ring,_ " she informed.

"So, the DVD store?" he suggested. Ally rolled her eyes, "It was a book first. The library is where the second clue is."

"You don't know that. It could be in the DVD store," he argued.

"Fine, then we go to both."

* * *

"Told ya," he smirked as he kept his eyes on the road. "Sorry, I forgot that Dez is the one who came up with the locations, so a library would never be an option."

He kept one hand on the steering wheel and rested the other on her thigh, "Aww, don't get sad."

Ally felt a smile making its way on her face when she noticed the crowd in front of the DVD store, "Austin, look!"

He turned his head to get a quick glance, "I think a local band is playing in the parking lot." He didn't even stop the car completely before Ally was running towards the music.

He quickly parked and chased after his girlfriend who was entirely consumed with the song. "I assume you like their work," he joked. She laughed and leaned into his chest, "Just listen to the words and the way they sing them. Look at how much effort they put into it. It still amazes me at how other people share the same passion as me."

"Hey, I'm right here," he chuckled. She smiled, "Someone other than my boyfriend who, without music, I would have never met."

"You really think that?" he asked. She pulled him into the quieter store and started looking for the DVD they needed. "Well, I don't know. How else would we meet?"

He put his arm around her shoulders and replied, "I always thought we'd meet because of Dez and Trish if it wasn't for music."

Ally giggled, "No, we wouldn't. I would refuse. I used to really hate you before I met you."

"You're telling me that you would risk upsetting your best friend by telling her you wouldn't want to attend her wedding because I'm there?" he challenged.

Her lack of response made him smirk with victory, "Thought so."

She noticed the DVD they needed and made her way to it. She opened it and found the clue. "Got it," she turned to him and held it in her hand proudly. Austin took it from her and read it, "Mark refused to be a minister again after this."

Ally laughed at the memory from Austin's parents' wedding, "The countryside house."

* * *

"You check upstairs. I'll check here," she instructed. "Wait, wait," his voice stopped her, "Dez mentioned something from the wedding which took place outside. That means…"

"The third clue is in the backyard," she finished for him.

"Did he bury it under the grass?" Austin sighed, "We checked everywhere that the wedding was in."

"Except for the stables," Ally smartly smirked and skipped to the stables. "Melody," she mumbled nostalgically when she was reminded of her childhood horse.

"You miss her?" he asked from behind her. She put on a brave face and replied, "There isn't a day that I don't think about her. Oh, there it is!"

She made her way to a corner where a white card lay. "This one has instructions," she said. "What are they?" he asked.

"'Think of where you first met. Now remember a similar place you found here. A special person will be waiting there to give you your final clue,'" she read.

"We met at an abandoned park in LA," he said.

"We found an abandoned park here. But who's the special person?" she wondered.

"We'll have to wait and see. Let's go," he grabbed her hand and went to the car.

* * *

"This place looks even more abandoned at night," she commented. "Well, it is an abandoned park," he stated.

"Austin! Ally!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed in the darkness.

"I know that voice," Austin said. A small cat ran into Austin's legs making him exclaim, "Candy!"

"Who?" Ally question. He picked Candy up in his arms and laughed, "It's Candy! Amy, where are you?!"

Ally was confused. Who was the cat that he was holding and why was he calling another girl's name?

"Right here!" the same voice said and a teenage girl appeared. "Hey!" he hugged her.

"Ally," Austin turned towards her, "this is Amy and Candy. Guys, this is Ally."

"You don't need to introduce us," Amy said excitedly and hugged Ally.

Ally awkwardly hugged her back. She looked at Austin for more information.

"I guess I never told you how I found you when you were taken," he smiled.

"We were too occupied with other things," she said.

"Candy was lost, and when I took her back to her home, Amy here told me she saw Scott's truck when she was near the warehouse," he explained.

Ally's eyes widened and she turned to Amy immediately, "You saved my life! I'm so sorry. I didn't know who you are. But I'm alive because of you. Thank you so much. I have no idea how to pay you back."

Amy modestly shrugged, "You don't have to. It was just a coincidence that I was in the same area as you for a school project. I'm here because Dez told me I get to be an important part in your date."

Austin, who has been playing with Candy the whole time, asked, "Which reminds me, what's our final clue?"

She smiled, "Good news is that the final location isn't far from here. Your fancy date is set up wherever you see a golden light here. Follow the light."

Ally spoke as she pet the cat, "Wow, Dez."

"I know, right?" she giggled, "Well, now Candy and I must depart to leave you two to your romantic night." Austin pouted when she took Candy away from him. He found comfort in the way the cat responded to his words.

"Thanks, Amy. I've been meaning to visit you, but I've been a little busy with the tour and all," he said.

"It's okay! I'll be cheering you on from the crowd at your first concert."

"I can't wait to see you," he smiled. "Candy, say bye," Amy cooed to her cat as she walked away.

Austin held Ally's hand as she called out, "Bye, Amy!"

"Special person, indeed, Dez," she said in a lower voice. Austin nodded in agreement and started leading her in the way he saw a glimmer of light.

"Mind telling me how exactly you ran into the cat?" she asked out of curiosity. He took a deep breath and started telling her the story of the night he was overwhelmed with frustration and a small cat soothed him.

"Wow, I guess I never asked how you dealt with it when I was taken," she furrowed her brows deep thought wondering how she let that time only be about her and neglected his feelings.

He noticed the distant tone in her voice and said, "You knew I was miserable. You didn't need to ask about that. Don't feel bad."

She simply nodded to reassure him that she heard him, but a familiar ache in her heart returned at the same time. He suddenly stopped her and pulled her to his chest. His hand rested on her cheek as he comforted her, "I thought we put those days behind us. I don't want us remembering them. Especially you."

She closed her eyes and let out a breath before letting out a humorless laugh, "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't think about it. Nothing good comes out of it. We're supposed to have fun tonight."

"And we are. Now turn around and see what I'm seeing," he said with his gaze fixed at something behind her in awe.

She did as he told her and saw the source of the golden light. Their fancy date was all set up in the middle of trees. It was completely set up. From the food to the table arrangement to the stereo in the back playing soft music. Dez forgot nothing.

"Woah," she said in amazement, "It's like it's our own private fancy restaurant."

It wasn't long before they were seated at the table sharing interesting stories about themselves.

"I know nothing about your high school years," she leaned forward on the table in curiosity.

"I know nothing about yours, too."

"Tell me about yours, then I'll tell you about mine."

He shrugged, "There's really not much to tell."

She gaped at him, "Are you serious? I bet you were the golden boy everyone wanted to be."

"Not really. I was bullied."

Sympathy arose in her, "What? Why?"

He noticed the sadness in her eyes and chuckled, "It's alright, Alls. You don't have to feel bad. It doesn't bother me anymore. I was bullied because working crappy jobs afterschool to help my single mother raise her kids didn't exactly qualify me for popularity."

"They didn't know what you were going through," she defended him although she had no one to argue with about.

"I realize that. Frankly, I'd like to see what they're all doing now. Probably sitting with piles of beer cans on their couches while they watch me on TV," he smirked proudly.

A smile crept onto her lips, "I'm proud of you for getting over their comments."

"I didn't exactly get over them immediately. I mean, their comments were part of my drinking problem. But you know what they say. Learn from your mistakes."

She reached for her glass and smiled proudly at him. "Now, tell me about your high school years," he ordered.

She sighed and sat back, "Well, I can definitely tell you that I wasn't popular, but I wasn't as a lower-class citizen. I was the girl who was cool with everybody."

"Still are," he commented cheekily. She blushed and continued, "I was part of the school's 'it' couple. Me and that guy, Nick, were high school sweethearts."

Her voice threatened of an unfortunate ending that urged him to ask, "What happened then?"

She looked away from his eyes and fiddled with her fingers, "Summer after senior year, we got into this huge argument about colleges. He got into his car and drove off. Two hours later, I receive a call from a police officer. He told me that Nick got into a car accident. H-He died on impact."

His eyes widened in shock, "W-What?"

She put a smile on her face, "The last memory I'll ever have of him is us arguing. His death is the reason I stared dating Scott. He was the only one who was willing to listen. He then encouraged me to write my feelings down, and that led into my first single."

"Do you… do you still lo-"

"Love Nick? No. I mean, don't get me wrong. He'll always have that special place in my heart. He is my first love. But when I look back at what I liked in high school, it makes me think of how I wouldn't be able to bear it now. I changed. I have someone else I love now."

He smiled, "I love you, too."

* * *

"Let me guess. You're staying over, right?" she laughed when he turned down the radio.

"What better way to end the night?"

"Oh, I don't know. You walk me to my front door, kiss me goodnight, and then leave so I can text you all night of how much I enjoyed our date," she laughed.

He put on a sarcastic thinking face then suggested, "How about I walk you to your front door, kiss you goodnight, let you go inside, then I'll ring the bell and pretend as if I just arrived to spend the night?"

She giggled and nodded in agreement.

* * *

She was still asleep, so he went downstairs into her art room to admire her work. He felt his happiness increase when he saw that all her recent paintings depicted strength in different ways.

The doorbell rang, so he rushed to answer it before it awoke Ally. He opened the door to a black-haired, blue eyed, middle-aged woman.

"Good morning," he confusedly said when she appeared to have no plans to speak first.

She seemed shaken up as she spoke, "H-Hello, is this Ally Dawson's house?"

Austin narrowed his eyes, "Who's asking?"

She nervously cleared her throat, "I-I'm Josephine Smith. Sc-Scott's mother.

He went stone cold and snapped, "What do you want?"

She was taken aback by the hostility and held an envelope in her shaking hand. "This is from Scott. He wanted me to-"

"Austin?" a soft voice asked from behind him. He mentally cursed and turned his head to her, "I got this, Alls. You can go."

"Ally?" Mrs. Smith pushed past him to his girlfriend.

"Mrs. Smith?" Ally asked in shock. An envelope was placed in her palm. "This is from Scott. He wanted me to make sure you got it. Please read it. Th-There's a small note in there from me. Read it after you read his letter."

Ally was too shocked to give a response other then, "O-Okay."

Mrs. Smith immediately left after that. Ally opened the envelope and got Scott's letter out and started reading it.

He watched her with intent eyes as her face expressed relief, shock, and sadness.

"Oh, my God," she whispered when the letter slipped from her fingers. The last paragraph echoed in her brain.

 _I never meant to do all these things to you. It was my mental illness. I'm deeply sorry that I took it all out on you. I regret everything. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me because I can no longer live with the guilt. I hope you live a long, happy life. A life without my destruction. And I will face the consequences of my actions._

He saw her rush to get the small note out of the envelope and read it. The small piece of paper fell to the ground a few minutes later when Ally collapsed into the chair behind her. Austin hurried and picked the note up reading it.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

 **I am aware that it's been a long time since I last updated. I know that I told you that I had most of the chapter ready, but my sister accidentally deleted it and I had to rewrite everything with the very limited time I had, but at least it's a long chapter.**

 **What do you think that note said?**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter!**


	17. Sadness or Relief

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

It all started a few months ago when she visited him in prison for answers. She walked out with the sense of relief for getting what she wanted. He was different though. He was put into solitary confinement for misbehaving where all he had was his thoughts. It wasn't long until what he had done in the past few months hit him hard, like he was never aware of what he was doing until that day. He started screaming and sobbing for three days straight, begging for forgiveness. He claimed he never knew what he was doing, like another person took over him when he hurt her.

After several days of agony, he was hospitalized for banging his head on the wall many times. All he said was to tell Ally he's sorry and that he loves her. His doctors described the scene as heartbreaking. He said that he was consumed by someone else and that person did all of these horrible things. It was revealed that he had a mental disorder.

One night at the hospital, he was given a drug to go to sleep, but it wore off sooner than expected. He was awake and alone in the room when he went to his bathroom with his blanket hidden under his clothes. He locked himself in and hung himself with the blanket.

"Alls, are you okay?" his voice broke her out of her thoughts.

She looked at him kneeling in front of her and swallowed, "I-I just need to be alone."

Slowly, she got up and headed upstairs to her bathroom. Austin thankfully stayed downstairs. The hot water burned her skin as she thought how she was supposed to react to her previous love and kidnapper's death. Imagining the man she loved crying from guilt in his hospital room made her lips quiver. She wrapped her arms around herself and let her tears out, mixing with the water from the shower.

He was right outside the door, hearing her sob. He didn't understand why she was heartbroken. She's supposed to be happy, like he was, but hearing her cry ruined it for him. Biting his bottom lip, he silently retreated downstairs.

* * *

She ran her hand through her wet hair and looked out the window, deep in thought. She heard someone clearing his throat in the doorway and turned her head towards him. Giving him a weak smile, she quietly said, "Hey."

"Hey. How are you feeling?" he asked and took a few steps closer to her. She gave him a look that said it all.

"Why are you sad that he's gone?" he voiced his thoughts without thinking if it would upset her.

"You don't get it," she muttered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You're right, I don't. If I were in your shoes, I'd be screaming with joy."

"Yeah, well that's the difference between how you knew him and how I knew him," she defended with her tears returning, "You knew him as an abusive boyfriend who kidnapped me and hurt me in many ways. As for me, I knew him as my boyfriend who I loved. I knew him as someone who helped me get over Nick's death. He was the person I went to for everything. He was my you. Everything you are to me, he used to be. I thought that he changed, that he hurt me on purpose. That letter told me that he never did. His mental disorder just took over. He was still the same person on the inside that whole time. He was just controlled by the damaged part of him. He never meant to do everything he did to me. He didn't have the control. He died as the old him who couldn't handle hurting me so badly."

She wasn't making excuses for the man that kidnapped her. Nothing would ever make that okay, but she was understanding his position when he killed himself.

Austin stared at her with concern as she caught her breath. "So, to answer your question," a few tears fell down her cheeks, "no, I'm not sad that my kidnapper is gone. I'm grieving the loss of someone who I once loved, who died in agony because of me."

"I'm sorry," he sighed. Although, he still had his doubts about Scott dying. Did he really die? Or is this all a trick to lure Ally into his trap again and his mother is in on it?

"His funeral is tomorrow," she declared.

"And you want to go?" he questioned.

"His mother asked me to. He would've loved it."

He couldn't help the words that escaped his mouth, "What if he's not dead and waiting for you there?"

She looked at him, unbelieving, "Austin, stop! The guy's dead and you're acting as if he's a bomb! I'm not asking for your permission. I'm going whether you like it or not."

"Then, I'm coming with you," he said. There was no way he was letting her go there when he felt an impending danger looming.

She looked away and nodded. "Come here, Alls," he said and got closer to her and hugged her.

She didn't cry into him. She just let his hold comfort her.

Austin thought of how ironic it was that not even 24 hours ago, they were having the time of their lives, and now they're dealing with a death.

* * *

"Austin?" she asked as he drove to the funeral. "Hmm?" he mumbled.

"Where's your knee brace?" she just noticed the lack of support on his injured knee.

"I don't need it."

"It doesn't hurt?" she asked. "Not anymore," he shrugged. She returned her gaze outside her window.

He hated this. He hated seeing her wear black and think how she's going to face all these people she once knew before him. He hated going. He was missing his doctor's appointment for this. Ironically, he wouldn't have to go to the doctor if it wasn't for the person whose funeral he was attending.

* * *

She felt exposed as soon as she stood among Scott's family and friends. "Ally!" Mrs. Smith appeared suddenly and pulled Ally into a hug, "thank you so much for coming."

Ally hugged the older, tired woman back and said, "We'll all miss him."

"I'm sorry," his mother said and wiped her tears away, "I'm sorry for all he's done to you."

Seeing all his friends and family again and speaking with them brought her back to 19-year old her. As she watched his father sob in front of everyone while giving a speech, tears welled up in her tears. She even forgot Austin sitting next to her.

"There is someone here who he's really sorry to," Mr. Smith sighed, "Ally, please forgive him. We never knew his disorder got worse. We knew that adopting a ten-year old might bring trouble, but Scott seemed happy for an orphan. He grew into a wonderful man. It wasn't until he lost someone else who he loved dearly that his true brain condition showed. You being here today m-means the world to all of us. My s-son wanted nothing more than your forgiveness in his last minutes. P-Please, for him, come here and give a word. I-It doesn't matter if you forgave him or not, j-just be honest."

She pursed her lips and nodded. Austin gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before she walked away from him.

Everyone looked at her sympathetically as she stood before them. She cleared her throat and said, "S-Scott was there for me at a very bad time in my life. He helped me get back up from rock bottom. It hurts to think that I wasn't there for him when he needed me most. I-I never thought about his disorder because he always told me it was nothing and had no effect on him whatsoever. Now, I feel guilty as hell for putting him in jail when it wasn't him who did all of these bad things."

His mother's sobs were the loudest thing she could hear. She felt Austin trying to catch her eyes, but she refused to meet his. Tears escaped her eyes as she continued, "For the past year, I spent my time hating him. I thought that he was someone who didn't want me to be happy and destroyed me. I never knew that he was getting destroyed too. The real reason we separated isn't him, as I always thought; it was his mental disorder. To think that he felt as bad as me during those times really wrenches my heart."

She paused for a minute to let her sobs out. "I'm sorry. S-Scott, if you're listening, know that I-I forgive you," her voice got even more cracked as she cried harder, "I wish you were still here and we could've worked it out. I wish I knew the truth before putting you in jail. I-I wish you didn't have to go this way. R-Rest in peace, Scott Johnson. You'll always be in our hearts."

She stepped down and covered her face as she made her way back to her seat. She leaned into Austin who pulled her to his chest and sobbed.

* * *

"That was a beautiful speech," his grandmother told Ally as they were talking after the burial. Ally smiled and thanked her.

Austin watched her from a distance in silence. He chose to stay away and let her communicate with people she once knew. He was only here to protect her after all.

"Mind if I introduce you around? I'd hate to be the odd man out," a guy his age came up to him.

Austin shook his head, "No thanks."

"I'm Joseph, Scott's best friend," the guy stretched a hand to shake his. Austin tensely shook his hand. Something didn't feel right.

"You're Austin. The boyfriend of the grieving ex there."

"Or the boyfriend of the girl your best friend hurt," Austin matched his tone to Joseph's, passive aggressive.

"You're the one who he said destroyed him," he said.

"As Ally said earlier, his disorder destroyed him," Austin corrected.

"Ahh, yes, the disorder your girlfriend never managed to catch before throwing him into jail. I bet you were a catalyst in her decision to leave him for the dead."

Austin furrowed his brows, "What's your problem man? What are you trying to do? Pick a fight with me? We're at a funeral."

"We wouldn't be if it wasn't for you," Joseph came up to his face. Austin glowered at the young man in front of him.

"I'm not gonna fight you," he seethed.

"Perfect. Then, you won't mind when I do this. This is for Scott," Joseph's fist connected with Austin's face in a millisecond, knocking Austin to the ground.

Gasps circulated through the people around them as Austin slowly got up, wiping the blood trailing down his nose.

 _Don't fight back. Don't fight back. Don't fight back._

He repeated the mantra in his head to not engage in a fight in front of everyone. He wasn't going back to his old self, punching everyone left and right.

"Austin!" Ally came up to him in worry. She examined the mark the punch left and whispered, "Let's just go home."

"Ally-"

"Please, Austin. I'm not mad at you," she begged.

"That's right, Moon. Walk away," Joseph's irritating voice rang between them.

"Joseph!" Mrs. Smith angry shout stopped him.

Austin grabbed Ally's hand and quietly backed away from the scene.

* * *

 **Don't worry. Just because Scott's gone doesn't mean trouble isn't still coming. Dying isn't always the end of things.**

 **Will you miss Scott?**

 **5 reviews?**


	18. Goodbye Night

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"I can't believe I leave for my tour tomorrow," Ally commented with a small amount of shock.

"Me too," he sighed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind her, "What am I supposed to do for these two weeks without you until it's time for my tour?"

She kept her eyes on the ocean in front of them as she replied, "Well, you could have a little father-son time with Mike. You guys seem to have hung out way more before he told you why he left."

He snorted, "No, thanks. I just remembered I have a lot of promoting to do for my movie and even more tour rehearsals. That'll keep me busy."

She rolled her eyes, "I thought we were over that 'anything but him' shit."

"It's not that. I just get this weird feeling around him, like I can't be myself. I feel like he judges everything I do around him."

She turned around in his arms and asked, "What's that about?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

"Is it related to your nightmare?"

"I don't think so. My nightmare is about something completely different," he said.

"Has it stopped?" she questioned.

He shook his head, "No, but I don't have it when I'm sleeping next to you, and I've pretty much spent every night at your house for the past three weeks."

"Good, so you're all caught up on your sleep. Question is, how will you sleep while I'm gone?"

"I'll just deal with it," he gave her a reassuring smile.

But Ally knew him better. He was dreading having to face the nightmare again, but he hid it to not make her feel guilty for going on tour.

"Where is everyone?" he asked to change the subject, "They're late."

"Maybe there's a lot of traffic. The beach house isn't really that close to their houses," she said.

* * *

"Oh, I'm gonna miss you so much, sweetie," Penny sadly said as she hugged her daughter.

"Me too," Ally replied.

"How are you doing, honey?" her dad asked, "You know, about Scott's death."

Ally took a deep breath and shrugged, "I'm doing well, really. Knowing that he's not out there anymore hurts, but we separated a long time ago, and I never had plans to reconnect with him. So, this is really a horrible thing to say, but maybe his death was for the best. It released us both from our pasts."

"Good for you, Ally. Stay strong," Mimi encouragingly said.

Austin walked in carrying a tray of empty glasses and set them on the kitchen table, "The guys asked for refills."

Ally handed him the bottle and he started pouring drinks. "Are you excited to go on tour?" Kira asked.

"I am, but I'm kinda sad none of you will be coming with me," Ally replied.

"Don't worry. We'll visit," Cassidy said, "probably when your tour and the guys' tour cross over somewhere."

"That would be awesome," Ally said dreamily.

Austin picked up the tray after finishing pouring drinks just when the guys walked in.

"Hey, I was just bringing these out," Austin told them referring to the drinks he was carrying.

"Dez told us to come here," Ryder confusedly said. Dez stood beside his wife and put his arm around her.

"Dez, what is it?" Mike worriedly asked.

"Well, Trish and I have some news," he nervously said.

"We're pregnant," Trish blurted out.

The only sound in the room came from Austin dropping the tray in his hands in shock. Only the noise of glass shattering and drinks spilling was heard in the room.

"Guys?" Dez asked.

Suddenly, squeals from Ally, Kira, and Cassidy took over as they lunged at Trish to congratulate her.

"I can't believe it!" Ally exclaimed as they all cried.

Austin got his ability to talk back a few minutes later and hugged his best friend. "Who thought you'd be the first to become a father?" Austin laughed.

"You tell me," Dez joked. "Congrats, man," Elliot said and clapped Dez on the shoulder. Hugs and congrats rotated all around the room.

"Let's celebrate on the beach. Everyone head to the back yard. I'll clean this up and get new drinks out," Austin announced happily.

"I'll help you," Elliot said as everyone left the kitchen.

Austin handed him a towel and they set down on their knees picking up broken shards of glass.

"Hey, uh, I want to talk to you about something," Elliot broke the silence.

"About what?" Austin distractedly said.

"Asking Cassidy to marry me."

That got his attention. Austin raised his head and said, "How about asking her father for his blessing, not mine."

"I did, but Mike said that he didn't have the right to give his blessing because he was gone most of her life. He told me to ask you."

Austin sharply said, "I thought I told you that she's too young for marriage. In fact, you both are."

"Come on, man, just hear me out," Elliot desperately said.

"No! She's 21. You're 23. If you get married now, it'll end in divorce!" Austin angrily exclaimed.

"You don't know that! Dez and Trish are 23 and married happily! Hell, they're even having a baby!" Elliot retorted.

"I never agreed to their early marriage, but I didn't have the right to stop it! This one, I can, and I will!"

The two young men glared at each other on the floor with glass surrounding them. "We've been together for 3 years. How about having a little faith in us?" Elliot snapped.

Austin sighed, "Look, I'm not doing it to stop you guys from being happy, but she's my sister, you're my best friend, and I care about you both. I don't want to see you both get hurt if this thing goes to hell."

"Why do you think every commitment ends with hell?" Elliot angrily asked before getting up and walking away.

Austin threw his towel on the floor in frustration and sat back in anger.

 _I'm right. They are too young._

* * *

"That was one hell of a night," Ally tiredly said as he drove them home.

"Including the very emotional goodbyes you had with everyone," he added.

"I feel bad for leaving the cleanup for them to do, but I have to be up at 3am, and it's already 11."

"They don't mind, I'm sure."

"A birdy tells me you and Elliot had an argument," she said after a few minutes of silence.

"How did you know?" he sighed and kept his eyes on the road.

"You two were quiet the whole time, and when I asked Elliot if he was excited to go on tour, he said not if he had to deal with the selfish brat of a boyfriend I have. What happened?"

"He wants to ask Cass to marry him and asked for my blessing. I said no," he replied dejectedly.

"What? Why?" she quickly asked.

"They're too young! Don't tell me you're on his side."

"Dez and Trish are his age too," she remarked.

"Doesn't mean I agree with their choice of early marriage," he said.

"Well, you have to make it right sooner or later. You guys have a tour in two weeks, and it would do no good in publicity to have two members of the band in a fight," she told him.

"I'm not even sure about the tour anymore," he quietly said.

"Why?"

"With Trish being pregnant, Dez is tied down to be with her, and I don't want to go on tour with an angry bandmate."

"Why do you sound annoyed with her being pregnant?" she asked when she noticed the edge in his voice.

He pulled into her driveway and shrugged, "I don't know. I can't help it."

"Are you jealous that he's getting something that you can't get?"

He winced, "Don't say it like that. It destroys every single drop of hope I have left for becoming a father."

Ally knew that when they announced their pregnancy that it was going to get into his head. She, too, felt a little jealous, but she didn't let it ruin her best friend's happiness.

"I'm sorry, but it's kind of selfish, not being happy for your best friend," she voiced the truth.

He rubbed his face in stress, "God, first Elliot, and now you. This is the second time I get called selfish in the past 4 hours."

"I didn't mean it like that, but this is not about you. It's about Dez becoming a loving dad, and you being there with him to witness it."

"Witness something I'll never have?" he asked with a look of doubt on his face, "Witness it to break my heart even more?"

She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to him, "Austin, don't let your insecurities run your life for you. If this was a year ago, you'd be flying with happiness for our best friends. And you still have a chance. Just go to the doctor. And you have a long time before you decide to start a family. You're still young. Or is that only what you tell Elliot?"

He threw his head back and blew out a breath, "You're right. You're right. I can't let this control me. I'I'm ecstatic for Dez, and I can't wait to see him become a father."

"You mean 'dad,'" she corrected.

"I'm not giving that title to someone who hasn't proven he deserves it yet."

"Wha- He's your best friend! You know he'll be a good father," she argued.

"That's what my grandmother said about Mike before I was born," he stated, "and we all know how that turned out to be."

"Your father is a good guy."

"That's not how I think of him," he disagreed.

"Austin," she asked with concern, "you're not still… mad at him, are you?"

He swallowed and fumbled with his keys. He was making sure if he really wanted to say the honest answer.

"I am, but for a different reason."

 **I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. I'm spending my free time watching Supernatural and it gets addicting.**

 **However, I'd like you to know that the next few chapters will be interesting. The final battle will begin. I've already started working on them.**

 **5 reviews for the next chapter?**


	19. Phone Call

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"So, Mr. Moon, you are here for a checkup, I suppose," Dr. Miller smiled at him. "Hey, doc," Austin shook his hand, "I'm here to see if we can do anything about the infertility." The doctor's face went serious and he solemnly noted, "Oh, let's get started then."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Mr. Moon, nothing will change," he apologetically said. Austin confusedly asked, "What do you mean? Isn't there some kind of treatment you can do?"

"I'm afraid not. The gunshot damaged almost the entire organ, and we don't want to risk harming what's left of it, and we shouldn't be messing with your hormone levels because it could only increase the chances of hormonal disorders, which you can have because of your family history. You still have about 15 to 20% though."

Austin couldn't resist firing back, "Yeah, but that's bullshit! It's what you tell dying patients to give them hope to live! What am I supposed to do for the rest of my life? Live alone?"

Keeping a serious face, Dr. Miller calmly said, "There's always adoption or using a sperm bank."

"What if that's not good enough for her?!" he exclaimed. He knew Ally wanted to get pregnant one day, and he didn't want to have to give her alternatives to do that.

Dr. Miller took off his glasses and leaned forward on his desk, "Let's talk man to man, not doctor to patient. Mr. Moon, you are barely 24. Have you and your significant other decided on having a baby?"

"No," Austin slumped back in his seat, "but I don't want to be the barrier if we suddenly do decide one day."

"If she really loves you, she wouldn't make you feel bad about something you can't fix. Now, take that 20% chance and try. And if you fail, remember, a lot of couples go through the same thing, and there are alternatives."

Austin stayed silent for a few moments before speaking, "Thank, doc."

* * *

"Hey! How was your appointment?" Ally cheerfully asked him on the phone.

She's trying to sound calm and happy, but he knew she was preparing herself to hear his news.

"Nothing. No change. They can't do anything," he disappointedly said.

The small 'oh' that she let out was the only sound he heard from her for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry," he winced and plopped down on his bed, "I'm sorry I can't give you everything."

"N-No. No. It's okay. I was just shocked. But that doesn't change anything between us, okay? I'm staying with you through all of this. Don't beat yourself up for this."

"How will we become parents then?" he questioned.

"There are hundreds of babies waiting for a family out there. We can be their saviors. Just imagine changing a kid's life with love. It makes everything so much better," she replied with a smile lacing her voice.

And indeed, he did feel better when he imagined himself and Ally rescuing a little boy or girl and raising them to be better. "I can feel you smiling," she giggled.

"I am," his smile broadened upon hearing her laugh, "Thanks, Alls."

"We'll get through this together," she concluded.

"How's the tour?" he asked in a better mood.

"I'm already exhausted," she replied, "but I'm loving it."

"I miss you," he commented. "I miss you, too. I had a dream last night that we went on another amazing date like our last one. I almost cried when I woke up," she said.

He groaned, "Don't make me get on a plane just to take you out."

"I won't. You got too much to do with rehearsals than fly out just for a date."

"Oh, God. Don't even mention rehearsals. I freaking hate them."

"What? Why? Is it because of Elliot?"

He scoffed, "Hell, yeah, it's because of Elliot. I came in late today because I was at the doctor's and he gave me nothing but shit."

"Why? Elliot wouldn't give you shit for going to the doctor," she confusedly said.

"Well, apparently, I'm a hypocrite because I'm the same age as him and looking into having a baby when I don't even let him marry my sister," he rolled his eyes.

"He does have a point," she noted. "Ally! You're supposed to be on my side!" he complained.

"I'm sorry. That makes rehearsals hard, doesn't it?"

"Tell me about it. Dez and Ryder are now mad at us both for not being professional. I'm really dreading this tour," he said.

"Make things right with them. They're your brothers. You'll be more excited then."

"No. I just have this feeling like something bad is gonna happen by the time this tour starts," he explained.

"Aren't you a glass half full?" she sarcastically said.

"I don't know why. I'm not thinking right nowadays."

"Are you sleeping?" Ally asked.

"No."

"That's why. Well, it's your lucky day. I have a two day break to come home to in a week. I'll get to see you before you go on tour," she informed.

He let out a breath of relief, "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

* * *

 **Short chapter after so long, I know! I was on vacation then school took over, and I never had the time to finish it. Ally comes home next chapter and trouble begins.**


	20. The Moons

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

"God, I'm gonna miss this," Austin licked his lips to savor the taste of his mom's cooking. "I'll bring you some home cooked food when I visit then," Mimi smiled at her son. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his seat, "Please."

"Did you tell Ally about tomorrow?" Cassidy asked while finishing up her own plate. He nodded, "Yeah. Her flight lands at 8 and we'll be here for breakfast at 11."

"I'll make your favorite then. I can't believe tomorrow is the last time I see for two months," Mimi said with a hint of sadness.

"Don't be sad. You just said you'll visit me. I want you to come too, Cass."

Mike walked in before they had a chance to reply. Austin cleared his throat and got up, "That's my cue. See you tomorrow."

He made his way past his father to the front door before he heard him say, "Don't leave now. It's still early. Sit down. Let's talk before you leave."

He put on his jacket and shook his head, "Trust me, you don't want me to talk."

Mike walked over to his son, "Come on, I wanna have a talk with my son."

Austin involuntarily fired back, "How about you go talk to your other son?"

He secretly loved seeing the blood drain from his father's face, but he hated the hurt 'What?' he heard from his sister and mother.

"What… what did you just say?" Mike slowly asked in shock.

Austin sighed and crossed his arms, "You had this amazingly fabricated story that fooled everyone… except me. Why did you hide it?"

"Hide what?" Cassidy came forward with her mom. "Ask Mike here," Austin smirked, "Go on. Tell them how you have a family overseas that you send money to every month."

"Mike, what is he talking about?" Mimi asked her husband, "You have another family?"

Mike looked between his hurt wife and smirking son before painfully admitting, "Yes, but that was before I married you. Way before."

"Dad, you've been with another woman?" Cassidy asked.

"I-I can explain," he stuttered.

"Oh, get to explaining. I can't wait to hear this. I bet we all need to know why you send money to them when you never sent us a cent," Austin urged him on. He enjoyed seeing his mom and sister stand against Mike for a change.

"How do you know about all this?" Mike asked him.

"Hacked your email and read everything related to them."

"So, you invaded my privacy?" Mike asked defensively. "You gave me years of pain and depression. I think you owe me at least that," Austin clarified.

"I'm ready to give you the world if it means you'll forgive me, but you don't have the right to break into my private messages!"

"And you didn't have the right to ruin my life!" he argued.

"You know I regret what I did! Stop throwing it in my face!" Mike raised his voice.

"Leaving us has to haunt you forever! It's not fair that we're the ones that are scarred by it!" Austin yelled back.

"And I'm not?! I know what I did was wrong, but at least your mother and sister were understanding! I thought my son would be well-mannered if he stayed with his mom! I was obviously wrong!"

Austin clenched his fists and spat, "You want me to be polite to you? The man that took away my childhood? I was bullied because of you, you know. I missed my own graduation working for the tiniest bit of money we could get. You show up all of the sudden and you want me to just welcome you in? You didn't fix shit by coming back. Unless you can change the 10 years you took away from us."

"You see your mom and sister are happy. Why do you try to ruin that? To get them to hate me? You know, you always tell me that you sacrificed everything to keep them happy. Why are you stopping now? Why do you suddenly want them miserable?"

Austin's eyes went black with rage and he slammed his father into the wall behind him. "Never say that I want them miserable. Ever. If there's anyone I would give my life for, it's them. Can you say the same about yourself?" he said through gritted teeth into his father's face before leaving the house and slamming the door behind him.

But he didn't know that his father whispered, "Yes" after he slammed the door.

* * *

He grabbed the edge of his dining table tightly in guilt.

 _Why am I feeling bad? He deserved it._

He stayed up all night thinking about what he did. He knew he reached crazy when he put himself in his father's shoes and imagined what he would do. He would feel violated if someone hacked his emails and read them to blackmail him and would be angry enough to say things he didn't mean.

 _I will not apologize. Not to him._

He sighed with relief when his phone rang. A distraction.

"You are an idiot," his sister said over the phone.

"Thanks, Cass. May I know why?" he rolled his eyes.

"You tried to destroy Mom and Dad's relationship, but guess what, soon after you left we talked it out. You should've listened to his explanation. It's you we're mad at now."

He ran his hand through his hair, "I'm sorry, Cass. I wasn't thinking."

"Damn straight, you weren't thinking. You should be glad I'm even talking to you right now. I'm angrier than Mom though."

"Really?" a sliver of hope of his mom talking to him again after what he did appeared in his voice.

"Yes. She still wants to have breakfast with you and Ally and me and Elliot. Something about not wanting to ignore you on your last day here." He hated having to face Elliot again. He still didn't fix things between them.

"Oh, thank God. I was so worried," he smiled.

"Don't worry. She'll still eat you up when you're back from tour."

"I'll make it up to you both, I promise," he said. He got another phone call and said, "I gotta go, Cass. I have another call waiting. I'll see you soon."

"Kay, bye."

He accepted the new call and put his phone to his ear, "Hey, Alls. Have you landed?"

"No," she disappointedly said, "my flight got delayed. I won't be in Miami until 10, at least."

"Oh," his mood went down, "I'll call Mom and tell her we can't make it to breakfast then."

"No, no. You go ahead. I'll take a cab when I land, get to my house, take a shower, and drive myself to your parents' house."

"Are you sure? Because I can come get you then we can go out for lunch or something," he offered.

"Go spend some time with your family. You'll miss them after tomorrow," she told him.

 _If she only knew._

"Okay. I can't wait to see you, then. I love you."

"I love you, too."

The only reason he said yes was because he wanted to talk to his mom about his actions last night.

* * *

He noticed his father's car was missing from the driveway as soon as he got out of his car. He thought maybe he went to get some groceries or something. It's a good thing he's gone though. He can privately talk to his sister and mom without him interrupting.

"Mom? Cass?" he called out when he entered the house. All her heard was hard sobbing. His heart dropped and he rushed to the living room to find his mom and sister hugging each other while crying intensely.

"Au-Austin," his mother sobbed when she noticed him. "Mom, what's wrong?" his voice wavered in fear.

"I-I…" she couldn't continue because she was sobbing. "Cassidy, how do I tell him?"

"Tell me what?" he pressed, his heart pounding. It was as if they were scared of telling him.

"Dad, Austin… He's-He's… gone," Cassidy said in between sobs.

The air was knocked out of him and he was suddenly unable to breathe. "Wha-What?" he asked, unable to comprehend what she just said.

"Car crash… an hour ago," Mimi cried. "On impact," his sister continued.

He blinked trying to understand what's going on. He felt his mouth dry and the room started spinning at how hard he tried to focus on the words flowing out of their mouths.

"What do you mean?" he questioned. It's like he forgot what these words mean.

"No, honey, please don't go into shock," Mimi pleaded among her tears.

"He's… dead, Austin," Cassidy sobbed.

Austin looked around him to find a stable spot to focus on, but he saw double and the room was spinning around him. He couldn't even hear their words. He felt his back hit the wall.

"I-I can't understand you guys," he finally said in complete confusion.

* * *

 **I'm crying as I write this.**

 **Next chapter is ready. All it takes for me to upload it is 5 reviews.**


	21. This Is Not Happening

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

 _Previously…_

 _"He's… dead, Austin," Cassidy sobbed._

 _Austin looked around him to find a stable spot to focus on, but he saw double and the room was spinning around him. He couldn't even hear their words. He felt his back hit the wall._

 _"I-I can't understand you guys," he finally said in complete confusion._

He drew in deep breaths to try to get some air in his lungs, but he wasn't successful. He started panting and sweating as his mom begged, "Austin, please calm down."

He couldn't hear her. His senses seemed to have stopped working in that moment. He felt his legs involuntary drag him up the stairs in a dizzy, heaving mess. He held onto the wall of the swirling hallway to his childhood room which he burst into. He fell onto his hands and knees and tried to steady his breathing. He looked around him, but all he saw was the room spinning as his world crashed down around him.

 _This is not happening. This is not happening._

* * *

Ally sighed happily as she drove herself to the Moons' house. She missed them all and couldn't wait to see them, especially Austin.

Finding out his infertility couldn't be treated shocked her. She spent that night twisting and turning in disappointment, but she didn't let him know. She knew better than to made him feel bad for something he couldn't help. Besides, there were always other options.

Her phone started ringing, so she accepted the call and set it on speaker.

"Hey, Cass. I'm on my way right now."

"Ally," she heard Cassidy sob. Her heart dropped, and she fearfully asked, "Cassidy, what's wrong?"

"Please… hurry… Austin. He's out of control," Cassidy cried.

A million scenarios rushed to her mind and she sped up, "I'll be there."

She hoped that Austin wasn't attacking Mike again. She hoped that he controlled his anger and kept his hands to himself until breakfast was over at least. All she could imagine was Mike ending up bloody on the floor and Austin with a bloody fist standing over him.

 _Goddammit, Austin._

She parked her car in front of the house just as she saw Elliot get out of his car, equally flustered. He ran up to her and quickly asked, "You got the same call I got?"

She nodded and they ran to the front door together. Opening it without knocking, they hurried to the living room where they found Mimi and Cassidy crying. Elliot held his girlfriend in worry as Ally questioned, "Where is he?"

A crash upstairs answered her. She found herself at the doorway to his old room in a heartbeat. Broken frames, a flipped over desk, holes in the wall, and more decorated the room. She quietly made her way to the bathroom where she found Austin leaning over the sink and white-knuckling it.

He looking into the mirror, and the biggest amount of disgust and hate Ally's ever seen took over his face before he punched the mirror.

"Austin!" she exclaimed. He ignored her and walked past her. He picked up a fallen frame and hurled it at the wall. "Of course, he leaves us!" he shouted, "He just has to hurt us!"

 _Mike left?_ Ally wondered.

"He comes here for two years, get close to us, and then strikes again! How did I ever believe he changed?!"

"Austin!" she tried again.

"I warned them! I warned them! But he made his way into my head and made me think I'd actually have a dad! This has been his plan the whole time!"

He punched the wall. This time, Ally ran in front of him yelling, "Austin!"

She wasn't successful. He still pushed over the bookshelf and threw any breakable object at the wall. Sometimes, Ally had to dodge.

"Austin, stop!"

She was scared now. She feared his next step was to take his anger out on her. She screamed when he threw a chair towards the wall she was standing in front of.

Elliot ran in and pinned him to the wall, "Austin, snap out of it!"

"Austin," Ally whimpered. He slowly started gaining control of his breathing again and looked around him to see the mess he created.

"W-What?" he dazedly asked. Elliot carefully let him go and backed away.

Everything that happened came rushing back to him. It didn't take long for him to remember. _He's dead._

"Are you okay?" Ally asked as she made her way to him. "He's-He's gone, Ally."

"I'm so sorry," she pulled him into a hug, "I know you loved him."

Austin buried his face into her neck and let his tears out.

"This can't be happening," he whispered.

* * *

If he could choose to be anywhere else to be in, he would. He was sick of the fake 'I'm sorry's he was kept being told. He hated seeing people who haven't spoken to his dad in years cry about his death. He tried helping his mom through her grief, but there was only so much he could do when he himself busts out crying every time he looks at the coffin. The last straw was when his dad's other family showed up, a petite woman with her teenage son.

He felt suffocated in here. He needed some air. He made his way out of the sympathetic glances and meaningless hugs to the backyard.

The only good side from this was that he figured out what his nightmares made him feel. It wasn't sadness or relief; it was guilt.

He felt guilty for never listening to him, for never telling him the truth, for trying everything to ruin him, for never letting him in.

He felt like a horrible son.

"How are you holding up?" he heard his sister ask behind him. He turned around and shook his head.

"You know, I don't get it. You hated the man, and you suddenly love him after he died. A little too late, don't you think?"

"I know," he whispered.

"If you hadn't tried to expose him for his other family, he wouldn't have been distracted while driving, and he would still be alive."

"I know."

"I was right. You were the one ruining our lives, not him."

That broke him. He looked her in the eyes and snapped, "You would have been dead if it wasn't for me."

She scoffed, "Oh, yeah, I bet. A happy life with both of my parents is more like it."

"Oh, really? Because as I remember, I was the one there for you when he never was. I was the one to play his role because he was too much of a coward to do it. Maybe I was not the best son, but I was the only one."

"Austin?" Ally interrupted, "Are you okay?"

He looked at her and nodded. Cassidy walked back into the house as Ally came up to him. "I love you," she said. He merely nodded and stared at his shoes.

"I'm here for you," she continued. He nodded again. He rarely talked to her now, to anyone really. Just short answers if you were lucky. She heard him talking to his sister and hoped he'd talk to her, but as it seemed, he was still not ready.

* * *

 **I thought you hated Mike, but your reviews show otherwise. He'll be missed. This is probably the most depressing chapter I've ever written so far.**

 **This story is coming to an end soon. Maybe 5 more chapters mostly.**


	22. Lost

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

 _2 months later…_

The same routine has been going on every day, and she hated it. Both of them had to cancel their tours, Austin for obvious reasons and Ally because she didn't want to leave him alone. Their day consisted of him writing songs in his studio and her in her art room across the hallway.

He barely spoke, and when he did, his words were mostly harsh. She chose to ignore that thinking that he had the right with what he was going through. Twice a day, she'd go into the studio with a plate full of food for him to eat. He'd eat a bit of toast and leave the rest of the plate untouched. Figuring that toast is all he is gonna eat, she started putting two instead of one with his food, but he always ate only one.

He stayed away from all kinds of alcohol. He remembered how disappointed his father was in him when his alcoholism was all over the news. Instead, he dealt with his feelings in a slightly healthier way, by writing songs. He never sang them though. He just didn't feel like it.

He never came up to the bedroom. Ally used to think he didn't even sleep until she walked in on him asleep on his desk in the middle of the night.

Both of their careers have been put to a halt. He used to hit ignore on every single call he received, but then he just turned his phone off altogether. He's been MIA for so long, and his fans didn't know why. Ally pushed all of her work a month forward; she was supposed to start working a month ago. She's been begging her manager to cancel all of her appointments. Her manager did warn her that this is a career demolisher though.

Austin's manager turned to calling her. He begged her to get Austin to show up to his movie's promotion tour and premiere. Austin ignored her when she brought it up.

Mimi and Cassidy visited every week at first. Austin refused to see them. They'd sit desperately in the living room as Ally pleaded him to see them. None of the others even called though. Ryder and Kira have distanced themselves, Elliot stopped coming after he heard Austin say that he was an asshole of a friend when he found out that Elliot had gone and proposed to Cassidy in secret 3 months ago, and Dez and Trish were mourning the loss of their unborn child.

Ally tried so hard to get him to go to the hospital with her than night.

 _She ran into the studio fumbling with her keys and exclaimed, "Austin, we have to go! Trish is having a miscarriage!"_

 _When she was met with silence, she looked up to see that he wasn't even looking at her. He was writing something in his songbook._

" _Austin!" she repeated in a hurry. "Go," he snapped, as if he was mad at her for interrupting his writing session._

" _What? Austin, your best friend- your brother- is losing is baby and he needs you to be there for him, and you're just gonna sit there? He was there for you when you lost your father!"_

 _He slammed his hands on the piano and shouted, "I don't need you to act as my conscience, okay?! When I say go, I mean go! Get out of here, or I will drag you out myself!"_

 _Silence echoed between them, between his rage-filled eyes and her terrified face._

" _I-I…" she stuttered and ran out to her car. When she got to the hospital, she was distracted from his painful words by comforting her best friend._

She was reaching her breaking point. Everything he was saying to her, all the hurtful words, were all too familiar to her. Scott used to say them before he turned to abuse. She was done giving him excuses. All she wanted was to leave now. She didn't recognize her boyfriend anymore, and she felt like a hostage. He certainly seemed to not appreciate her concern.

After delivering his dinner to him and asking him how he is and getting silence in return, she left for a walk. Her first time out in a long time, other than occasional trips to the grocery store. She thought about going to the abandoned park, but she remembered he sometimes went there after dark to think. Instead, she went to another one, where no one would be in at night.

She walked and walked until she ended up on a bench in front of a pond. She weighed in the pros and cons of just packing up and leaving. Pros: she'd get away from the daily pain and depression. Cons: Austin will be all alone, and she feared that he would hurt himself.

"Hello, stranger!" a voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Ryder?" she asked when he emerged into the low light.

"Guess I'm not the only one that needs time to think," he smiled and sat down next to her, "It's been a while."

"Yeah," she trailed off.

"How is he?"

"I don't know," she replied, "he doesn't answer me when I ask him."

"He's not… He's not… hurting you, is he?" he asked.

"Physically or mentally?"

"You are here because of one them."

"He's never hit me, but his attitude is horrible," she answered.

"He yells at you?"

"Sometimes. Other times, he just snaps some hurtful words. He just needs to vent his feelings," she spoke, trying to convince herself.

"Not like that and on you," Ryder said, "don't justify his actions."

"Then, what should I do?" she spoke in a cracking voice, "Because I'm too scared to push him over the edge."

"Leave."

"And tell him what?"

"Nothing. He doesn't deserve an explanation. He knows what he's done," he replied, "Do you love him?"

"Not when he's like that," she sighed and stopped her tears from falling. "Then leave and show him how important everything he lost is," he advised.

"You do realize you're telling me to dump your best friend?" she said.

"If he's not being good, he doesn't deserve it."

"S-So, I'll l-leave," she concluded, "I'll leave Austin." The three words she never thought she'd say.

"I know it's tough, but you have to watch out for yourself," Ryder said gently.

"How are you and Kira?" she changed the subject.

"Separated," he nodded sadly.

"What?" she asked in shock.

"Yeah, after Dez and Trish had a miscarriage and you two were gone, we had a few family issues, so we broke it off for a while."

"Are you okay?" she questioned.

"No," he shook his head, "I miss her so much, and I plan on getting her back soon."

"Good for you." At least one of them was getting the love of their life back.

"Ally, go back now, quietly pack your stuff, and walk out that door. Don't look back. Okay?"

"Yeah," she croaked out.

* * *

There she was, silently walking down the stairs with all of her belongings in a suitcase. Just as she reached the front door, she heard, "Going somewhere?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned around to see Austin with his arms crossed and a very serious expression. "You're leaving?" he questioned.

"I-I have to," her voice wavered.

"Why?"

"Austin, I've been here for you, but you take your frustrations out on me, and I can't go through that. I've already gone through that with Scott, and I know what happens after this. It's not long before you turn physical."

"You think I'd hit you?" no emotions were in his voice.

"I don't know what to think, but I can't keep justifying your anger," she held back tears.

"My father just died!" he exclaimed.

"I know! I know how awful it feels! But the world still turns, and your life is still passing by while you lock yourself in that room all day! I can't continue this way. I stopped my career and endured everything you've been doing, but this stops now. I have to protect myself."

He remained silent for a few heartbeats before silently saying, "Go, then."

She felt her heart clench at the sound of him letting her go. "I just can't pretend to be happy anymore," she said and opened the door.

"I'd never want you to," he said in a low voice, and she swore she heard heartbreak in his voice.

Lost is how she felt when she shut the door behind her, leaving him behind, leaving all they had behind.

* * *

 **Next chapter is the last chapter! I can't believe it! I'm gonna miss this story so much.**

 **I will still be writing though. My upcoming story will be on Wattpad shortly after this story ends, but it won't be Austin & Ally.**

 **What do you think of this chapter?**


	23. Apologies

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

* * *

 _One month later…_

Austin lifted his head from his desk with a painful cramp in his neck. He winced and sighed thinking about how today was going to be the day he fixed everything. He spent the last month in total depression and self-destruction until two days ago when he decided it's time for a change. He prepared himself to face his family once again and thought through everything he was going to say. He had a plan.

After dressing himself in normal clothes for the first time since his father's death, he headed to his car. He reached the cemetery and found himself close to tears in front of his dad's gravestone.

"Dad, I'm sorry," his voice cracked. He crouched down and placed a bouquet of flowers on the grave. "You wanted me to deal with my feelings better, but I still messed up. I pushed everyone away. I pushed you away. I hate that it took you dying for me to figure out just how much I need you. I never had a father figure to guide me, and I took you for granted when you offered."

He blew out a breath to control his tears and resumed talking, "I wish you were here, Dad. I would've let you in. I would've let you be my dad. I should have let go of my anger. I-I took it too far and I'm dealing with the consequences now."

He gave out a dry laugh, "Ally always told me to let you in because I'd regret not doing it one day. I never believed her. Now you're gone and so is she. I pushed Mom and Cass away. Elliot won't talk to me. Dez probably hates my guts for not being there for him when he lost his baby. And Ryder distanced himself. All of that because I couldn't deal with my guilt. I probably lost my career too. I should have talked it out. I shouldn't have shut everyone out. I can't believe I figured all of that out after the damage was done. But I promise you, Dad, I will be a better person. I will learn from my mistakes. I will make you proud."

A shadow came over him. He looked up to see someone who he had disappointed. "I'm sorry," he whispered as a tear rolled down.

Dez gave him a warm smile and crouched down next to him, "He was a good man. He'll never be forgotten."

He could only muster a barely audible 'yeah'. After a few moments of silence, he said, "I should have been there for you, man. The way you were. I just couldn't deal with more heartbreak."

"You think I'm mad?" Dez laughed, "I'm not. I understood what you were going through. Ally showed up angry as hell at you, but I never got mad. Unlike you though, I dealt with my sadness in a healthy way."

"Rub it in more, will you?" he muttered.

"You look like shit," Dez commented.

"You try looking like a supermodel when you wake up every morning already wanting it to end. I hit rock bottom, man."

"And now you're fixing it, I suppose. I mean you did leave the house this morning," he guessed.

"I am. I just hope everyone accepts my apology."

"Go on, then. I'm just here to pay my respects to Mike," Dez smiled and nodded his head towards the parking lot.

* * *

Austin nervously shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited for someone to open the door.

 _No turning back now._

Elliot answered the door and frowned when he saw him. "Oh, look, he's alive," he sarcastically said.

"H-Hey. I… umm. Can we talk?" Austin's begging eyes convinced Elliot to let him in.

"Elliot, who is it?" Cassidy's voice rang out. "Your brother," Elliot replied while glaring at him.

They heard a 'what' and footsteps running towards the living room before a shocked Cassidy appeared.

"Hey, Cass," he couldn't help but smile upon seeing his little sister once again. All traces of happiness washed away from her face and she cleared her throat and crossed her arms, "Why are you here?"

"To apologize," he said. Elliot rolled his eyes, "And to tell us, once again, to call off the engagement."

"No. No. I swear," he frantically replied, "I'm here to tell you that I regret it all and I should've never come in your way. It's none of my business when you guys decide to get married. All I care about is your happiness."

Cassidy looked down and asked, "Have you left the house since Dad died?"

"Only for short walks, but mostly no, but I'm trying to get better by getting all of my friends back, people who I did wrong."

"I don't think you'd like my asshole friendship back," Elliot deadpanned.

"You know I didn't mean that. I was just in a dark place and I got hurt when I found out I was the only one who didn't know about your engagement. Just give me a chance and we'll back good as new," he pleaded.

The doorbell ringing interrupted them and Elliot went to get it. "I missed you," Cassidy smiled and hugged her brother.

"Me too, Cass. I'm sorry," he hugged her even tighter.

"Austin Moon! Right before my eyes!" a voice broke them apart. Austin looked over to see a smiling Ryder.

"I've come out of hibernation," he chuckled. "Yeah, no shit," Ryder laughed and hugged him. "What's going on?"

"Well, I was gonna go over to your house and tell you but you're here now. I'm begging for forgiveness," he informed.

"I hope you mean forgiveness from Ally," Ryder said.

"You talked to her?"

"Who do you think encouraged her to walk out on you?" Ryder sheepishly admitted.

Austin decided to ignore that part seeing as he deserved it and said, "Well, I'm going to see my mom first. Then, I'm heading to Ally."

"Good luck," Cassidy smiled.

* * *

" _I'm so so so so sorry, Mom," he whispered into his mother's hair as she hugged him tightly. "I'm just happy you're back, honey," she wailed._

He kept repeating that scene over and over in his mind as he drove to the studio to talk to Ally. The way his mother spoke to him sounded as if she hadn't slept in weeks because she was worried for him. It pained him to think that it should be the other way around considering she's the one who lost her husband. He's a horrible son.

He finally got to the studio and walked into the reception. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where Ally Dawson is?"

"She's currently recording. I'll let her know you're here," the young receptionist smiled sweetly.

He took a seat on the couch and started thinking about what he was going to say. He read the lyrics he brought her over and over again and almost walked out when he suddenly found them too forward.

All he had prepared was thrown out the window though when she walked out. He abruptly stood up and cleared his throat.

"I can't believe it," she let out a breath once she got to him.

"Hey, Alls," he gave her his million-dollar smile. They stood in awkward silence for a few minutes until Austin kicked himself for not talking.

"I-I, uh, wrote this song, and for some reason, I could only hear your voice singing it," he dumbly said.

She took the papers from his hand and read them. "Well, come on," Ally said and starting walking away.

"Wh-What?"

She turned back around and smirked, "Aren't you going to teach me this song?"

* * *

 **I know I haven't updated in a long time, but I do have finals and the SAT's to study for. Also, this is the last chapter, so I wanted it to be perfect.**

 **I'm sorry if it doesn't seem good, but if I don't get this chapter out today, it'll take me another month before I get the chance.**

 **Expect an epilogue coming out soon to tie up all the knots. I hope you guys enjoyed this story.**


	24. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.**

 **I started writing another story on Wattpad if you guys would like to check it out. It's called Presumed and my username is springmuses. Three chapters are already up and I would love it if you gave it a shot. I need your opinions to know if I should continue writing. And please follow if you could.**

* * *

 _6 years later…_

After Austin got out of the dark, he slowly started making a comeback in his career. A year later, Ally was wrapping up her tour, and he was dedicating his latest album to his father. Ryder and Kira got back together. Trish and Dez had a sweet little baby several months after that, and Cassidy and Elliot tied the knot in January. Austin walked the lovely bride down the aisle and held his mom in tears as they watched her marry the love of her life. At the reception, Ally sang the song to which the newlyweds danced to, and Austin performed a love song that he claimed to be for the happy couple, but when he reached the second verse, a spotlight shone on Ally and he jumped off stage and sang to her lovingly. When the song was over, he got down on one knee. Ally immediately said yes as tears streamed down her face, and they were married by Mark a year later. And again, they threw cake at the minister.

They tried to get pregnant for two years. Austin tried every single treatment he found online. Then one day, when he was surrounded by the guys and their wives and girlfriend, Ally ran into the room crying and tackled him with a tight hug. When asked about what was wrong, she laughed and whispered in his ear two simple words. _'I'm pregnant.'_ That's when he succumbed into tears on the floor with her.

When she was five month along, they were at the band's concert. Ally was not feeling well and stayed in his dressing room with Trish to look after her. After the fifth song, Trish ran onstage in panic and whispered his nightmare into his ear. It made headlines that Austin Moon ran offstage in the middle of a concert to take his wife to the hospital because of a miscarriage.

It almost ruined their relationship, but Austin made sure to help Ally through the pain of losing a child and let her know that they still had each other. Shortly after Ryder and Kira's wedding, he sat Ally down to tell her of an idea he had. After using the excuse of not wanting her to go through that pain again, she agreed.

Three months later, they had adopted an adorable baby boy. It filled in the emptiness they felt and made them a family. They fell head over heels with little Alec and didn't care what the world had to say.

Ally laughed as she cradled her son when Dez tripped trying to chase his daughter back to her seat. "Let her be," Austin advised his best friend. Dez shook his head, "She hasn't eaten all day!" Trish grabbed her daughter and said, "She'll eat when she sees the cake."

Several minutes later, Mimi walked on carrying a birthday cake with Penny holding plates behind her and sang happy birthday. Austin grabbed Alec and set him on the table in front of the cake.

"It's Grandpa Mike's birthday, Alec," he cooed gently. "Blow the candles for him."

Penny helped her grandson blow on the candles and everyone clapped in the memory of a good man.

"Dada!"

Everyone fell silent to hearing Alec talk for the first time.

"What did you say, sweetie?" Ally grabbed her baby in excitement.

"Mama?" it came out more like a question from her son's mouth.

"Both mama and dada on the same day," Ryder laughed, "he's like a future prodigy!"

Austin laughed and held his family in his arms. "Happy birthday, Dad," he quietly said staring up at the blue sky.

"He would be proud," Ally told him. He nodded and said, "He is proud."

* * *

 **The end! I'm really gonna miss these characters. I hope this gave them the ending they deserved. Did you like it?**

 **I'm gonna repeat what I said at the beginning because I really need the activity. My new story is on Wattpad, and it's titled Presumed. Also, my username is springmuses. I hope you guys go check it out. Three chapters are already up, and the fourth is on its way. If you read it, please leave a comment so that I know if I should keep writing it or not. Follow if you'd like to, please!**

 **Thank you for reading this story. You guys are awesome!**


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